Opposition parties say Zandile Myeni's appointment as eThekwini deputy mayor is 'pointless'

Opposition parties in the eThekwini metro council have questioned the influence the National Freedom Party's (NFP) Zandile Myeni will have as deputy mayor after her election on Friday.

The NFP has only one seat in the council but Myeni garnered 127 of 209 votes during Friday’s special council meeting. The IFP’s Mduduzi Nkosi received 81 votes.

Myeni replaced Abantu Batho Congress (ABC) president Philani Mavundla as chairperson of the bloc of smaller parties.

Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda retained his position by the same margin in a vote of no confidence.

Imtiaz Syed of the Active Citizens Coalition questioned whether Myeni would have the support to oppose the ANC in the executive committee. 

“Our concern is that if the ANC has given up a seat in the executive committee to Zandile, who has one seat in the council, the question is, is she a deployee of the ANC and does she have to toe the ANC line? Or can she work in her own way to fulfil the role and responsibility she has as a councillor to provide services to the city? It takes a lot of political will and political know-how to fill that position,” he said.

“What has the NFP done to be given that seat? They only have one seat in this council, so how many people does she have behind her to support her? So, what we see is not what is happening. We have to speak to the things in reality. Is it a power hungry person? Absolutely. That’s how we see her, because she doesn’t have the essence of what the community needs.”

ActionSA’s Zwakele Mncwango said Myeni would hold the position in name only, but the "true power" would remain with the ANC and the EFF. The ANC would "drown her input" if they chose to and the EFF would be the biggest benefactors in that “alliance”.

“What influence is she going to have with one seat? That is a drop in the ocean, they can ignore her as long as they have the EFF on their side. Whether she agrees with them or not is immaterial.  So she becomes a puppet deputy mayor because they won't listen to her because she doesn't have support,” he said.

“They will be controlled by the the EFF because it has numbers. Even the budget cannot be passed without the EFF."

Nkosi shared similar sentiments.

“Just wait and you will see why the EFF is voting with the ANC. Soon the EFF will be chairing a committee, so it's not about principles, it's about 'what are you giving to me',” he said.

“To have someone who is new in local government, who does not understand issues, is a challenge. You have never heard her debating issues in council meetings. You need, in that office, someone who will be strong, who will tell the mayor if he's steering the city in a wrong direction.”

However, Canaan Mdletshe, NFP secretary-general, disagreed.

“Myeni is an independent thinker who will not be shy to express her views. We don't expect her to be a stooge or be there to take orders from anyone in the council. We expect her to make sure she represents the citizens of eThekwini ... we don't think she will be swayed for whatever reason,” he said.

“Our councillor is there at the behest of citizens and the other parties excluding the ANC. So we don't think it will reach a stage where the ANC will force her to support them in decisions taken in the council. We expect her to be a deputy mayor who will use her position to advance the needs of citizens. We don't know what portfolio she will be assigned to, but whatever it is, she will not be there to be a 'trophy' deputy mayor,” he said.

Kaunda also supported Myeni’s election.

“We need to ensure stability because investors find themselves confused whenever they see changes in the leadership of the council, so there must be stability in government leadership and administrative leadership.

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