Endumeni in KZN will have a new mayor tomorrow – bomb threats and other sideshows aside. The first meeting to elect a replacement for Siyabonga Ndlovu was called off after an anonymous caller to the municipality claimed there was a bomb in the building.

Sources say a newcomer, ‘Mkhize’, will be sworn in as mayor once he replaces Ndlovu as the IFP’s proportional representative councillor.

The ANC and the single ABC councillor are likely to oppose his election, but the IFP and DA are expected to support the nomination.

Mkhize is reportedly from the Msinga municipality and, at around 27 years old, lacks experience in council matters.

In a statement, Lucky Khumalo, the ANC’s regional secretary, said: “At least from the former mayor’s letter (that went viral on social media), we can see that a deal was struck between the DA and the IFP for the DA to vote against the ABC’s vote of no confidence against then-Mayor Ndlovu, in which the DA allegedly received R120 000 as gratification for voting to keep in office an incompetent mayor, who in the DA’s own admission had for the past three years ‘been sleeping on duty’.”

He added: “A question that comes to mind is, what would stop these two parties from entering into the same arrangement again in the election of mayor [today]? We ask again, albeit rhetorically, how much did it cost the IFP to buy the DA’s support this time around?”

The DA has flatly rejected allegations of receiving payment or other favours from the IFP, calling the claims a baseless smear campaign.

“We have explained why it is not in the best interest of this ailing municipality to elect a mayor with no council experience, no demonstrable leadership experience, no experience in turning dysfunctional institutions around, whose task will be further exacerbated by the lack of public trust as, in the eyes of the public, he will be leading the municipality together with a bunch of corrupt councillors, who are only concerned about lining their pockets.

“We reiterate our position as expressed in the joint statement between the ANC and the ABC caucuses that our respective caucuses will vote against the election of a mayor who is clearly unsuitable for purpose, and we urge once again members of the public and other civil society organisations to attend [today’s] meeting and witness the IFP and DA’s actions, which will definitely constitute the final nail in the coffin of our beloved municipality.”