NAMES of possible successors to outgoing Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga are already being thrown into the hat.
Speaker of council Katlego Mathebe has been mentioned, but insiders say the former Cope official stands no chance. But the jury is still out on whether MMC for Human Settlements Mandla Nkomo and DA regional leader Abel Tau will fit the bill.
From the opposition benches, Dr Kgosi Maepa was ANC mayoral candidate when the party tried to oust Msimanga through a motion of no confidence last year.
Under Maepa, the ANC has gone to great lengths to discredit Msimanga and signal its intention to reclaim the metro before the current local government term runs out.
The highly learned politician previously worked in the office of former ANC mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa. He became ANC regional chairperson last year and was immediately shipped to council, where he became caucus leader and mayoral candidate when it appeared Msimanga was a dead man walking into council to face the no confidence motion at the time. However, it remains to be seen if the official opposition will change its stance now with Msimanga out of the picture.
The mayor’s relationship with the ANC had deteriorated; the official opposition constantly called him derogatory names, forcing him to resort to court action. He is suing Maepa and ANC caucus spokesperson, youth leader and councillor Lesego Makhubela for reputational damage.
You will remember that the EFF tabled its own no confidence motion against Msimanga last year. EFF leader Julius Malema subsequently told a media briefing “there was somebody in Tshwane who we will support if the DA nominate him as mayoral candidate”.
Many believed the EFF commander-in-chief was referring to Nkomo.
Just like after the watershed local government elections in 2016 when the DA-led coalition won control of the metro with support of the EFF, a lot will once again depend on which of the big two wins Malema’s party over.
Neither the DA nor the ANC has the required majority to govern Tshwane on its own. The new mayor will therefore come from the party which secures support of the 25 members of the red berets in council.
If whispers from the DA are to be believed, the party’s Tshwane caucus has stated it would not be dictated to by the EFF on who becomes mayor.
In the worst case scenario that the EFF does not give its vote to the DA or ANC, council will be hung and fresh elections held - a situation all three big guns will want to avoid.