Heated tussle for mayoral seat

MORE than two months has gone by and the AbaQulusi council is no closer to electing a mayor.

The previous week, the council made its third attempt to elect a mayor following Cllr Martin Mtshali’s resignation from the position on April 18, but the meeting had to be cancelled.

The Vryheid Herald was told that the special council meeting had to be postponed on account of the EFF councillor having committed to another engagement. However, there are also unconfirmed reports that Cllr Mtshali, having had a change of heart about relinquishing the mayoral position, and one other IFP councillor had sent their apologies saying they would not be attending the meeting. With the loss of these two votes, an IFP candidate could not have been elected as mayor.

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The IFP has now put Cllr Jerry Sibiya forward as its mayoral candidate, after violent protests made it abundantly clear that the public will not stand by and allow Cllr Mncedisi Maphisa to become mayor.

Cllr Maphisa began a full-time career in politics last year after resigning from his position as a cleaner at Vryheid High School. Members of the community, as well as councillors, condemned the decision to elect someone as politically inexperienced as Cllr Maphisa as the mayor of AbaQulusi.

Members of the Democratic Alliance confided that they are much more confident in the decision to appoint Cllr Sibiya in the mayoral seat, as he has been involved in politics for more than 20 years and demonstrates his vast knowledge of local government at council meetings. Cllr Sibiya has also been praised for putting party politics aside and working with everybody for the betterment of the community.

Cllr Maphisa has since been offered the position as deputy mayor by the IFP as a ‘consolation prize’, but protestors have already voiced their discontent over this decision as well. Sources close to Cllr Maphisa have indicated that he is openly criticised at public meetings and has even received death threats.

In the meantime, it is rumoured that Cllr Mtshali has attempted to withdraw his resignation and is no longer willing to simply comply with whatever the IFP demands.

If Cllr Mtshali leaves the IFP and a bi-election had to take place in his ward, the loss of the ward to the ANC would give the ANC an outright majority in council.

In a telephonic interview with the Vryheid Herald this week, Cllr Mtshali denied having anything to do with the cancellation of the council meeting in which a mayor was to be elected, saying he was still at home when he received an SMS from the speaker on the day the meeting was supposed to have taken place, saying that the meeting had been cancelled.

Asked if he had changed his mind about stepping down from the mayoral position, he said that he had never resisted the election of the new mayor.

While he did not say it directly, Cllr Mtshali’s somewhat cryptic replies carried an undertone which indicated that his strained relationship with the IFP may lead to him leaving the party.

“People get divorced when the relationship is irreparably broken,” he said. “I never intended to be a councillor. I was approached. I didn’t nominate myself into the position, I was voted in by the people. I never applied to be mayor. After everything, I am not surprised about the hogwash that is being said about me, but I will not be just another cog on the wheel.”

Asked if he would stand as an independent if a bi-election had to take place in his ward, Cllr Mtshali responded, “I will cross that bridge when I get to it, with the consultation of the people in my ward.

“We discuss things in my ward. I share my thoughts with the community and they share their wants and needs with me. I never tell them lies or tell them things just to hype up their emotions. I tell them things as they are. I want prosperity for my people. I can make a difference in their lives whether I am mayor or not.”