Publicity stunt or renewal in action? ANC decides to sack Mangaung mayor

The ANC in the Free State has decided to recall its Mangaung mayor, Mxolisi Siyonzana, and is expected to seek the blessing of Luthuli House before wielding the axe.

The meeting with Luthuli House is expected to take place at the weekend.

The decision was taken at the ANC Free State interim provincial committee (IPC) meeting on Thursday and came just days after the ANC was embarrassed by the shocking levels of service delivery in the Mangaung metropolitan municipality when thousands of its guests descended on the province for the January 8 celebrations.

From roads riddled with life-threatening potholes to revelations that some residents were still using the bucket system, the poor state of the metro was laid bare for everyone to see in the past week.

ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa’s motorcade had to swerve around potholes that have become synonymous with the Free State as he crisscrossed the province in the lead-up to the January 8 celebrations.

The ANC national leadership called for the party in the province to immediately take action against the mayor, the entire executive and some rogue councillors.

Co-ordinator of the interim provincial committee Paseka Nompondo said Siyonzana’s axing must happen as soon as possible.

“After a series of engagements to assess the state of service delivery in the Mangaung metro municipality and in line with the proposal of the region for changes in the institution [the metro], the IPC officials will meet with national executive officials to present a proposal for the changes in the mayorship of Mangaung metro,” he said.

“This proposal is motivated by the vigour to improve service delivery and provide the necessary political leadership that must lead corporate governance of the institution. The IPC is hopeful this matter shall be resolved without delay.”

People who frequented Mangaung in its heyday said the speed with which the metro had deteriorated was shocking. They said the city’s failure to maintain its infrastructure, especially the roads, had earned it a reputation as one of the worst-run municipalities in the country.

Mangaung is one of the only three metropolitan municipalities — alongside eThekwini and Buffalo City —  that are still under ANC majority control.

The chaos in the metro has got so out of control that ANC councillors have gone against the party line and voted with opposition parties on crucial matters.

The municipality was placed under administration in April 2022.

In 2020 the auditor-general flagged the municipality for returning a whopping R429m grant to the National Treasury after failing to spend it despite its collapsing infrastructure.

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