Stefanie Lockman-Naidoo made this announcement on Monday during the special council sitting at the metro's Bram Fischer building. The formal announcement by Lockman-Naidoo follows after the ANC’s upper structure, the  National Executive Committee (NEC), tipped the Umkhonto weSizwe veteran Gregory Nthatisi to replace Siyonzana.

ALSO READ: ANC decided on replacement for Mangaung mayor

It’s understood that for now, deputy Mapaseka Nkoane-Mothibi will be elected to act in the position whilst the ANC add Nthatisi to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) system as a Proportional Councillor (PR), so that later he may be elected as mayor.

The resignation of Siyonzana also means that a committee called Mayco, known as the Members of the Mayoral Committee (MMC), is now dissolved.

Siyonzana’s term as the mayor of the cash-strapped metro, which is still under the national government's care, was marred by a lack of service delivery and constant complaints from irate residents about poor road infrastructure, among others.  

In his resignation letter, which has since been shared widely on social media, Siyonzana thanked speaker Naidoo for the opportunity for growth and development the council provided him during his tenure.

“Thank you for your guidance and support, furthermore I would like to express my sincere gratitude for all the years I have served and been deployed by the African National Congress (ANC) in different capacities in the Metro Municipality. It has been a pleasure and honour to serve the ANC,” Siyonzana said.  

Siyonzana served as speaker of the metro under the tenure of ousted mayor Olly Mlamleli, who was voted out by opposition parties, along with ANC councillors, in August 2020.

OFM News previously reported that 31 councillors voted for her removal while 28 opposed it, and 8 spoiled their votes. She was voted out through a secret ballot after Siyonzana accepted the bid to vote via secret ballot.

ALSO READ – #BreakingNews: Mangaung mayor voted out

The ANC’s Mangaung Regional Committee spokesperson, Ngcamisa Nxangisa, said “the ANC in Mangaung had the privilege of being briefed by the PEC of the ANC, led by the secretary, comrade Polediso Motsoeneng, that indeed the executive mayor of Mangaung, comrade Mxolisi Siyonzana, handed in his resignation letter as both the executive mayor and councillor in the Mangaung Metro Municipal Council. We immediately accepted and thanked the councillor for a sterling contribution spanning more than 10 years in that municipality”.

The move to redeploy him comes after the ailing metro went through a series of service delivery challenges and failures for years, which at some time left residents angry and ultimately engaging in protests. ANC PEC spokesperson, Jabu Mbalula, previously told OFM News that the party's PEC undertook a robust and honest reflection on the governance and local government level.

“As a consequence, there is an appreciation that misalignment exists between the ANC election manifesto and the performance of our government. The PEC affirmed the 9th provincial conference resolution that extraordinary efforts are needed to strengthen both the provincial and local governments. In this regard, the PEC resolved to redeploy the Free State Premier, Cde Sefora Ntombela, and the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality Mayor, Cde Mxolisi Siyonzana. The PEC mandated its officials to engage the national officials to process and finalise the decision. The ANC in the province wishes to thank these comrades for their contribution to the portfolios within which they were deployed.

Furthermore, the PEC appreciates the comradely spirit with which the said comrades received the ANC decision,” Mbalula added. The ANC had selected the Member of Parliament (MP) Seiso Mohai, the Free State convener of the Women’s League, and current Mayoral Member of the Committee (MMC) Lulama Titi-Odili, for interviews with the NEC.

OFM News