Buffalo City Metro braces for political shake-up

A major reshuffle of the Buffalo City Metro’s political leaders is on the cards after a bruising leadership battle at the ANC’s regional elective conference. The city’s mayoral committee is set to undergo significant changes, with most portfolios expected to receive new political heads. Changes are also expected in key council structures such as the municipal public accounts committee (Mpac) and the women’s caucus.

A meeting of the ANC’s Dr WB Rubusana region’s deployment committee late on Tuesday discussed potential candidates for key political positions at East London’s City Hall. The region went into its December elective conference sharply divided, with members of mayor Princess Faku’s 10-member mayoral committee on opposing sides of a factional contest. Faku secured a second term as regional chair, while Anele “Gee” Lizo, formerly an ANC MPL in Bhisho, was elected regional secretary, replacingAntonio Carels.

Lizo confirmed this week that the regional deployment committee had met and that recommendations had been forwarded to the party’s provincial leadership. “Yes, the region’s deployment committee sat on Tuesday. “I cannot say there will be a reshuffle, but we did recommend some names to the province’s deployment committee, which is the one that decides on who gets deployed where.

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“From that meeting, we did come out with some names, which we sent to the province this morning [Wednesday], and we are now waiting for the province to give us a way forward,” Lizo said. He declined to disclose the names, saying they had been sent “through the office of the provincial secretary [Lulama Ngcukayitobi]”. Faku declined to comment, saying only that she was not aware of any meeting where the names of potential office-bearers were discussed.

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