The former spokesperson for the previously disgruntled ANC members, who took the ANC Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) to the High Court over its constitutionality, says the IPC appears as if it’s not interested in resolving all that went wrong. 

Monnapule Ntamo tells OFM News that the election of Siyonzana as the candidate for the mayoral position is a step backwards and it fails to take into account the damage inflicted on the metro with Siyonzana previously present in the upper echelons. Ntamo says Siyonzana is not the answer to the troubles besieging the metro, given that he is part of the history that still haunts the metro, even to date.

“What difference will he (Siyonzana) make? We must also hasten to say we know it’s only for the duration left for us to go to local government elections but what difference will that man bring into this municipality? So we are not really satisfied that the IPC, so to advise that Siyonzana must lead this metro... it’s against that background that we see that his nomination is completely unacceptable,” he adds.

He says Siyonzana is the Mangaung Regional Task Team chairperson, who oversaw the Branch General Meeting (BGM) which led to the election of the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) which was later found as unconstitutional and invalid by the Bloemfontein-based Supreme Court of Appeal in 2021.

On Wednesday, the IPC’s coordinator, Paseka Nompondo, announced Siyonzana as the successful candidate for the mayoral position after interviews with the ANC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) last week. Siyonzana, Mapaseka Nkoane and Millicent Motingoe were all recommended to the ANC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) as mayoral candidates.

Siyonzana has been at the upper echelon of the metro when politicians such as Playfair Morule, Eva Moiloa, Getrude Mothupi, Thabo Manyoni, and Olly Mlamleli were mayors of the metro since 2005. Siyonzana’s election as the mayoral candidate comes after former Mayor Olly Mlamleli was ousted in August 2020 during a vote of no confidence, which saw an ANC faction voting with opposition parties, including the DA, EFF and the Freedom Front Plus (FF+).

OFM News