SEDIBENG. – The Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) Executive Mayor, Sipho Radebe, has resigned!
The ANC has thanked Sipho Radebe for his service and contribution to the people of Emfuleni.
“We wish him well in his future endeavours.”
A statement issued by the Provincial Officials of the African National Congress (ANC) in Gauteng said that it held a meeting with Radebe following a series of engagements between him, the ANC leadership in Sedibeng, and the Gauteng Provincial leadership on how best to refocus the municipality to improve service delivery, and better serve the people of Emfuleni.
Following these engagements, in a statement, the ANC Gauteng Provincial Task Team (PTT) said that there is a shared understanding that urgent intervention is required to reset the ELM, consolidate its efforts to serve the people of Emfuleni, and restore their confidence in local governance.
“The provincial leadership of the SACP welcomed the finalisation of this process and the way the ANC has handled the matter. The SACP expresses its support for efforts aimed at stabilising and strengthening governance in Emfuleni. The SACP in Gauteng will not allow disgruntled or opportunistic elements to use its principled decision to contest local government elections to divide or undermine the unity of the Alliance. Mr Radebe has accepted the decision to strengthen the Mayoral Committee by stepping down. The ANC wishes to thank Cde Sipho Radebe for his service and contribution to the people of Emfuleni. We wish him well in his future endeavours,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, the Afrika Mayibuye Movement said that while there is very little that the residents of Emfuleni will miss him for, and that Radebe has become a sacrificial lamb for a much deeper crisis.
“The challenges facing Emfuleni today have very little to do with who occupies the mayoral office and everything to do with more than two decades of African National Congress (ANC) failures, corruption, maladministration, cadre deployment and poor governance. For years, the people of Emfuleni have been subjected to collapsing infrastructure, deteriorating roads, persistent sewage spills, unreliable water and electricity supply, growing unemployment and the steady decline of once-thriving communities.”
Mayibuye National Organiser, Patrick Sindane, said that the resignation of Radebe will not solve the problems of Emfuleni.
“Replacing one ANC leader with another ANC leader will not fix a municipality that has been systematically destroyed over many years. The crisis in Emfuleni is political in nature and requires a political solution.”
He added that, “The residents of Emfuleni are once again presented with an opportunity to correct a mistake that has been repeated election after election: voting for the ANC as though it were a religious obligation rather than a political choice based on performance, accountability and results.”
