The African National Congress-led coalition in the eThekwini Metro Municipality was dealt a severe blow after the party was outvoted while trying to appoint its preferred candidate as municipal manager for the metro.

A new city manager was meant to be elected by the end of March, but delays have put the position on hold after a full council voted to terminate the contract of former city manager Sipho Nzuza.

Nzuza was paid out the remainder of his contract.

The decision to terminate his contract came after Nzuza and former mayor Zandile Gumede were charged with corruption and money laundering in a Durban Solid Waste contract worth over R340-million.

In a pre-dawn statement on Tuesday, the City said: "After deliberations on the recommendations of the panel set up to appoint the new eThekwini municipality city manager, the council took a decision not to approve the recommendation."

The ANC was outvoted after its own coalition partners, the Abantu Batho Congress (ABC), voted with the Democratic Alliance (DA), Inkatha Freedom Party and other opposition parties, against Ray Nkonyeni municipal manager, Maxwell Mbili, who was in the running for the position.

The City said a panel comprising eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda, an independent expert and chairperson of the human capital portfolio committee, Nkosenhle Madlala, made recommendations "after a thorough selection process which was in line with the protocols governing the employment of senior managers in local government". 

Kaunda and Madlala were said to be affiliated to the ANC, while no other political parties were part of the process.

"The City reiterates that the process was above board and free of any political interference. On Wednesday, [Kaunda] will outline a way forward on the process to be followed to fill the post," the City said.

Musa Mbhele was acting in the city manager's post.

How the voting went down

Deputy mayor Philani Mavundla's Abantu Batho Congress voted against the ANC, a move that left the ANC, which had over the years enjoyed majority support, without absolute decision-making powers.

"Yesterday we had a meeting where there was a disagreement in a manner that the process of employing the city manager was followed. This resulted in a vote that was against the report presented by the selection committee."

Mavundla famously voted with the ANC following the local government elections last year, giving the ANC's Kaunda, who received 113 of the 219 votes, the mayoral position after narrowly defeating the DA's candidate, Nicole Graham by nine votes.

Mavundla is a former ANC mayor in Greytown, and also one of former president Jacob Zuma's prominent financial backers.

ANC humble pie

Graham, the DA leader in eThekwini said the ANC had to eat humble pie and remember they were not the majority party in the City. She said arrangements and deals made in November 2021, following the local government elections were not etched in stone.

"I think that anyone who thought arrangements made in November would last five years were sorely mistaken. What we saw yesterday is what we need to see more of. People not beholden to political arrangements, but rather doing what they think is right. I think that is the biggest lesson in all of this. There is no one political party that has a majority in eThekwini," she said.

She said elected officials had to vote with their "conscience and giving the people what they want, to their benefit".

"It certainly does seem like the sands have shifted. It is also a very complicated political terrain."

"For us the next step is an honest assessment of how we can serve the people in the City and how to get this municipality out of the mess that it is in."

She added they were open to partnerships with those who shared their concerns.

"There's values-based decisions and we are not jumping in a coalition with anybody. But also, the council has to make decisions on a monthly basis on what it does with money and the delivery of services. Whoever wants to work with us on that, we are open to all colours," she said.

Time for inclusivity

Graham said the latest move made it clear that the ANC could not continue operating the eThekwini council as they pleased.

"This has been a very significant week for them. They have now lost a very significant vote because of the way they conducted themselves and the process they followed."

She said that opposition parties pleaded with the ANC to involve other political parties in the municipal manager decision.

"We told them, make this more inclusive, make exco the panel, there were lots of options. The biggest reality is that the ANC does not have a majority. They cannot continue as though they have a majority because it is simply not going to work.

"The situation in council has become chaotic, but the lesson has been learnt. The ANC were very quiet last night. The reality is that if they keep conducting themselves like this, people don't like it and people fight back. In a straight shoot on numbers, the ANC do not have the numbers."

Graham said they were meeting with party leadership to map a way forward in decision making in the council.

"We are not here for a shouting match with the ANC, we are here to work. We are meeting with our leadership and looking at the various options. It is complicated terrain. The exco system makes it even more complicated because we only have three seats on exco and the ANC coalition has five," Graham added.