New Mogale mayor says he’s up to the task

New Mogale City Mayor Michael Holenstein says he is up to the task of leading the municipality following an urgent council vote after the previous mayor resigned.

The city's council held an urgent meeting on Wednesday‚ where it voted for the new mayor following Lynn Pannall's resignation for health reasons last week.

The DA‚ which won the city in the local elections in August‚ will continue to govern there.

“We didn't struggle [to get the IFP and EFF vote] at all because I think at the end of the day we are [all] aligned to the same service delivery [objectives]‚” Holenstein said on Thursday.

ANC West Rand spokesman Refentse Mangope said they were surprised that the IFP and EFF voted with the DA after agreeing that they would vote for council speaker and ANC member Patrick Naga Lipudi.

“They showed us yesterday [Wednesday] that we cannot trust them‚” said Mangope.

He said both parties showed that they had “serious hatred” for the ANC.

However‚ EFF regional secretary Edwin Mukwevho said the ANC had not approached the EFF for support.

“We didn't have any communication with the ANC to vote with them‚ whatever they are saying we are distancing ourselves from it‚” he said.

Mukwevho added that the EFF had voted with the DA because it was part of the organisation’s national mandate to do so.

“We think the DA can provide the service delivery mandate in the city better than the ANC‚” he added.

Meanwhile‚ the people of Tshwane will have to wait another 60 days to find out who their new city manager is.

The position is currently occupied by Lindiwe Kwele in an acting capacity.

Speaking at a special council sitting on Wednesday‚ Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga said the process of appointing the manager had to be done properly and could not be rushed.

The City of Johannesburg struggled to get its councillors to complete the items on the agenda at its meeting and as a result could not vote on whether the city will absorb its entities‚ which include City Power‚ Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo‚ the Johannesburg Roads Company‚ the Johannesburg Development Agency and the Johannesburg Social Housing Company.

Novela said the city will have a special meeting next week where it will also vote on the city's procurement policy to pave the way for its open tender system.

TMG Digital/BusinessLive