Cyril Xaba, ‘sober’ new mayor for the eThekwini circus

10 Jul 2024

eThekwini’s new mayor, the ANC’s Cyril Xaba, was elected on Wednesday, although not before councillors scurried around in a flurry of talks bound to impact the city’s cautious new leader.

Not one for fanfare, Cyril Xaba took to the podium and accepted the mayoral chains in his trademark, understated style.

The delivery of his prepared victory speech was wooden. Almost a lifelong ANC member, Xaba is a consummate company man. He promised a clean government and emphasised the need for all spheres of government to cooperate to fix eThekwini.

He deviated from the text only briefly to mention his “baptism of fire”.

ANC negotiations with the Democratic Alliance stalled on Monday night because some in the ANC reportedly wanted to give the Economic Freedom Fighters the role of chairperson of the city’s powerful municipal accounts committee (MPAC).

DA members accused the ANC of opening the door for ANC-EFF deals and threatened to withhold their support for the ANC against the new uMkhonto Wesizwe party.

Some DA members said the IFP, the party’s traditional ally, might benefit from a deal to secure the chair of the influential Human Settlements and Infrastructure Committee.

With negotiations stalled, the DA had two options: field a candidate against Xaba and close the door on talks – or keep its options open. It chose the latter.

‘It’s a bit of a circus’

All the parties in the council seemed to be prevaricating, with numerous interruptions for time to caucus.

“It’s a bit of a circus. Things are changing by the minute. There is intense horse trading,” a councillor said.

Zwakele Mncwango, a councillor and ActionSA KZN chair, nominated Thabani Mthethwa, the DA caucus leader, for mayor, but he declined and Xaba was elected unopposed.

Mncwango said “political manoeuvring” won the day because the ANC, DA, IFP and EFF wanted committee chairs.

ACDP councillor Jameel Essop said: “The jostling for power is appalling.”

Committee chairs are drawn from the city’s 10-member executive. In Exco, the ANC has four members, the DA three, the IFP one and the other is from the National Freedom Party, meant to represent the council’s smaller parties.

Of the 222 council seats in eThekwini, the “big four” in the city control 195 seats (ANC 96, DA 59, EFF 24, IFP 16). ActionSA and small regional parties have the remaining 27.

The IFP’s Mdu Nkosi said his party had yet to decide whether the IFP sought a committee chair. He welcomed Xaba, but promised to “closely monitor him.”

Details surrounding the allocation of chairs remain unclear.

KZN DA leader Dean Macpherson said negotiations with the ANC were ongoing.

“We want to chair the water and sanitation committee and MPAC. We don’t want to be involved in anything with the EFF. So the ANC must make up its mind: either it wants a uniform approach to governance, or we will stay in opposition and at the first motion of no confidence in the new mayor – they mustn’t look to the DA to pick up the pieces.”

The EFF’s Themba Mvubu said his party was the official opposition since the GNU had been formed.

“We caucused today because we had to seek guidance from our central command. The decision was this: it is the ANC and DA’s show, not ours. The DA declared the EFF enemy number one. They won’t accept us. If things collapse, it is their fault. If the ANC invites us to chair a committee, we will be guided by our central command.”

‘A sober guy’

Xaba assumed his role with a worried air.

Few people would want the job of heading a corruption-hobbled city that employs more than 20,000 people and services (after a fashion) four million residents.

eThekwini’s annual budget is R67-billion, and while the city received an unqualified audit last year, the Auditor-General has repeatedly flagged irregular expenditures and growing bad debt.

A month ago, the ANC removed former mayor Mxolisi Kaunda.

Last week, the province sent in former municipal manager Mike Sutcliffe and former presidential director-general Cassius Lubisi to help run the city.

Xaba, 57, has been with the ANC since its unbanning when he was a student leader.

He sits on the ANC’s national executive committee, has two law degrees, and served as MPL in KZN for 20 years before being appointed agriculture MEC. Comrades stiffed him when he was seen as a Cyril Ramaphosa ally and deployed to Parliament.

A well-placed ANC insider described Xaba as “a sober guy”.

“He is cool, calm and considered. He has the right personality for this. He is not an idealogue, and he doesn’t have an ego. He will navigate the alliances and find solutions.”

Xaba said he didn’t want to dive into anything but would ask for urgent reports about why residents in certain parts of the city were without water.

“Could this have been prevented or at least mitigated, and have officials been negligent?”

Xaba said he would work with a team to deal with issues that have bedevilled the city.

“I don’t have a silver bullet, but I have the trust and confidence of the ANC and the political parties represented in the council, and I don’t take that lightly.”

Xaba’s journey will be fraught over the next two years until local government elections.

Dire situation

Apart from navigating coalition politics, the city is in a dire state, underscored by recent comments by the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO, Palesa Phili.

She said some businesses had to close or operate with a skeleton staff due to unreliable water and electricity supply, poor waste removal and safety and security concerns.

“The city is in a crisis that is, in part, self-created, which has caused businesses to lose faith and confidence in the government’s ability to serve the interests of the people, and disinvestment is occurring regularly.”

Civic bodies echo business concerns. Terri MacLarty of the Umhlanga Ratepayers’ Association said: “We look forward to an honest and honourable mayor… sewage and water issues are crippling our economy. The last mayor was all charm and no follow-through.”

ANC members backing Xaba worry about the party’s ability to deal with corruption and mismanagement, which has spiralled out of control.

The ANC is also concerned about the number of MK sleepers among its ranks, considering that Jacob Zuma’s party swept the floor in KZN in the recent elections and now commands 37 of 80 seats in the provincial legislature.

Macpherson said MK would be pushing for by-elections.

If enough ANC councillors in eThekwini resign to join MK, it would prompt a host of by-elections, threatening the ANC’s already tenuous hold on power in the city.

Before the council meeting, a senior ANC member told Daily Maverick: “Expect stability. It has been an intense four weeks. We have been negotiating delicately, and it has demanded political maturity, especially when dealing with parties we previously worked with. We can’t just dismiss them now.” DM

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‘It’s a bit of a circus’

‘A sober guy’

Dire situation