The ANC was locked in early morning meetings before council.
Floyd Brink’s reappointment as City Manager in Johannesburg has been halted due to disagreement among ANC leaders.
On Thursday council was expected to vote on the adoption of a report that recommended Brink’s appointment as city manager.
However, the ANC caucus was reportedly divided on this issue.
Following a meeting with their national leaders, the ANC in Johannesburg requested that the item on Brink’s appointment should be withdrawn from the council meeting.
“Speaker, I rise to withdraw the report,” said the ANC’s Sthembiso Zungu.
However, The Citizen understands that the ANC’s coalition partners are not happy with this decision.
The appointment of Brink seemed to be the only important thing on Thursday’s council meeting agenda but proceedings were drawn out as different parties within the government of local unity (GLU) requested caucus break to outline their position with regards to Brink’s appointment.
The squabble over the appointment of a city manager is happening days before the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg.
The Speaker of Council had invited councillors to a meeting that was expected to approve Floyd Brink’s reappointment.
However, it is alleged that the mayor of Johannesburg Dada Morero and the deputy regional secretary of the ANC Loyiso Masuku are not seeing eye to eye on this matter.
They both lead factions within the ANC in the city and are expected to contest one another at the party’s regional elective conference this year.
The Citizen can confirm that ANC leaders, including the party’s secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, were locked in a tense meeting two hours before the council meeting began on Thursday morning.
SABC News reports that Morero is refusing to support the appointment of Brink, while other regional leaders like Masuku have given Brink the thumbs up.
The Citizen understands that the leadership of the ANC in Gauteng has been called in to resolve the matter.
The provincial leadership of the party has played a critical role in setting up the coalition arrangement in Johannesburg and in other municipalities.
Candidates
Those close to the matter say Morero preferred the controversial former COO of the Johannesburg Property Company (JPC), Helen Botes, to become the next city manager.
However, Brink came up number one in interview scores.
Brink was competing with the CEO of the Council for the Built Environment, Dr Msizi Myeza, and the city’s COO, Tshepo Makola.
He had previously served as City Manager, but the Johannesburg High Court ordered him to step down from his post. The court found that his appointment was irregular.
City in crisis
Speaking to The Citizen on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Joburg Crisis Alliance (JCA), Yunus Chamda said that the city manager post has been left vacant for months.
“We are concerned about the vacancy that has existed for so long. Obviously, a city that is as big and complex as Johannesburg needs stability, especially in the most senior administrative position,” he said.
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