The Rustenburg city council is expected to name its new speaker at its first council meeting today.

The Rustenburg city council is expected to name its new speaker at its first council meeting today.

This is after the speaker of the council, Thabo Mabe, resigned last week. He is reported to have been offered a job at a company that is linked to the 2010 World Cup.

However, opposition parties said fighting within the ANC might have forced him to resign.

The DA' s Paul Swart said tension surfaced after the speaker was stripped of his powers, which were given to the chief whip, Sheila Mabale-Huma.

Mabe also failed to turn up at a special council meeting at the beginning of the month, said Swart. The special meeting was called after ward 18 councillor Mmapula Khunou passed away.

Mabe, who was the mayor of Rustenburg before the municipal election last year, was appointed speaker in a move seen as a balancing of power between the two factions within the ANC. - Sapa