Big changes in the leadership of several Eastern Cape municipalities may be on the cards after a high-level ANC meeting resolved to reshuffle councils.
The Daily Dispatch has learnt that the biggest change is likely to happen at the Buffalo City Metro while a new accounting officer may finally be appointed at the King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) municipality.
Eastern Cape ANC bosses have put forward the name of Ngamla Pakade as the new municipal manager for KSD.
The decision was taken at Calata House, the party’s Eastern Cape headquarters, on Monday during a meeting of the provincial deployment committee (PDC).
KSD has been without a permanent municipal manager since Mlamli Zenzile’s contract expired in September last year.
Cogta has seconded Mbulelo Sigaba, a former “operation clean audit” project manager for the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, to the local municipality while the recruitment process was ongoing.
Sigaba has faced pressure from unions in recent weeks over what they alleged was the illegal payment of R65m to workers.
The Daily Dispatch understands that the ANC region, which is under the control of a task team, also submitted the name of Banzi Silinga to take over the reins, but insiders said Pakade received more support.
Pakade is the former municipal manager of Mnquma in Butterworth.
The Monday meeting also resolved to fire two senior BCM mayoral executive committee members, Ncedo Kumbaca and Nozandile Mhlola.
The matter is set to be finalised at a PDC meeting next week, following which the ANC caucus in BCM will remove Kumbaca as engineering services head and Mhlola as head of human settlements.
The Daily Dispatch understands that Kumbaca will be replaced by Sindile Toni who is head of corporate services. It remains unclear who will take over his position.
The metro will also have a new ANC chief whip. Current whip Mzwandile Vaaiboom will move to head the housing portfolio with Mawethu Marata, the metro’s head of local economic development, taking up the position of chief whip. Other changes in the BCM council include Helen Neale-May, who is the current head of community services, swopping positions with finance head Nontsikelelo Peter.
“LED [local economic development] and corporate services portfolios remain vacant until next week when we meet to finalise the rest of the changes. So as of now we appointed a municipal manager for KSD and dealt with changes in BCM,” said a senior ANC leader who attended the meeting.
Contacted on Tuesday for comment about the resolutions of the PDC meeting, ANC provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi said: “We are not reporting about that for now, nor do we want to comment.”
The meeting was also supposed to discuss changes in Sarah Baartman as well as Chris Hani Councils, but both regions asked for postponement...