Mangaung metro municipality elects new mayor

The Mangaung Metro Municipality in Bloemfontein has a new mayor. Former Mangaung Speaker, Mxolisi Siyonzana, has been elected as the executive mayor during the council sitting.

African National Congress ANC Women’s League, regional chairperson and councillor, Mapaseka Nkoane has been elected as Speaker of the municipality.

Former Executive Mayor, Olly Mlamleli, was ousted through a motion of no confidence in August last year.

The municipality has been in the news for all the wrong reasons.

In 2019, the municipality was placed under administration.

The city has been downgraded by ratings agency Moody’s twice in May this year after residents embarked on a shutdown demanding better service delivery.

New mayor, Siyonzana has conceded that the municipality has administrative and financial challenges.

“Currently, our city is faced with financial instability, governance instability. The first thing that you do, because you want our people to pay services. You deal with issues of refuse removals, service delivery, you go even beyond that … you deal with issues of evaluation roll, you deal with issues of data’s book and at the very same time, you encourage our people to pay for their services.”

Newly-elected Speaker Mothibi-Nkoane says the issue of service delivery is high on the agenda of the new administration.

“To say the issue of service delivery is the burning issue. Especially, when it comes to grovelling our roads in the community. When it rains, you can’t move as you are expected to. But, we will make sure we work as a team. I said in my speech that the unity of this council, it’s of paramount importance.”

EFF councillor, Tsholo Ranchoane has expressed his party’s views on the new elected leadership.

“We had a very strong and firm speaker before and he managed to control the council with the dynamics in the council. I’m confident that the new speaker will collapse the council. And therefore, we are very much concerned. The issue of the mayor, we are very much happy as the EFF. That office managed to elect a mayor. Now, this office is very important for service delivery within the community of Mangaung.”

DA councillor, David Masoeu says they are cautiously optimistic about both the newly-elected mayor and the speaker.

Masoeu says the two were part of the previous failed administration.

The executive mayor says he will appoint his mayoral committee in the next few days.