The ANC has sacked Buffalo City mayor, Zukiswa Ncitha and Deputy Mayor Themba Tinta in reshuffle announced on Friday.
ANC provincial spokesperson, Mlibo Qoboshiyane, announced that the ANC has deployed Alfred Mtsi as the new Buffalo City mayor. Xola Phakathi will be his deputy.
The reshuffle comes amid ongoing tensions between Ncitha and City Manager, Andile Fani.
Ncitha and Tinta have also been charged with fraud along with Council Speaker, Luleka Simon-Ndzele, and several others in so-called Mandela memorial fund trial.
Qoboshiyane said the ANC's intervention focuses on both political and administrative arms of the municipality.
He said they were doing this because the ruling party wants Buffalo City Municipality to fully focus on delivering basic services to communities, driving economic development and upgrading infrastructure in the municipality.
"Pursuant to resolving challenges that were experienced in the Buffalo City Municipal Council, the ANC has resolved to make intervention in the leadership structures.
Our intervention focuses on both political and administrative arms of the municipality," he said.
"We are doing this because we want the municipality to fully focus on delivering basic services to our communities, driving economic development, upgrading infrastructure in the municipality.
Our decision was based on the fact that, if the current situation continues unabating, then it would have made it difficult for the Municipality to accomplish targets set in our local government elections manifesto."
Qoboshiyane said the ANC had also "taken a decision that there must be an immediate intervention in the municipal administration. The intention is to ensure maximum support to the intervention we have made. This intervention also follows concerns from various structures of community within the BCM Metro on matters of service delivery," he added.
"We are aware that there has been a lot of work done by the municipality under the current leadership and we believe that this intervention will accelerate that work to make the Metro work for its people from residents, businesses, civil society, investors, youth and rate payers."
"We are confident that the leadership collective coming into the Metro will work with all structures of the Metro from workers, management, councillors, including those from opposition parties, all residents, business and civil society to make the municipality work," he continued.
"We call on these structures to support the leadership, which will be elected through normal Municipal Council processes."
