By Paul Karuiki
The eThekwini municipality finally has a mayor. Cyril Xaba was duly elected at a special sitting on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. He possesses worthy political and professional credentials for his demanding role.
There was unanimous consensus among all political parties that he be elected as the new mayor of the municipality.
Xaba has a rich political heritage, having served in several positions during his political career. He has served as a member of Parliament in the National Assembly and KwaZulu-Natal Legislature. He also served as an adviser to the then-KZN premier Dr Zweli Mkhize. His significant political experience comes in handy for his deployment as mayor of eThekwini.
However, he is coming in at a time when the municipality is experiencing a myriad developmental challenges, ranging from poor governance and leadership to inadequate supply of water in most communities to poor provision of sanitation services, water and electricity shedding, illegal dumping of refuse, rising crime, unkempt municipal parks and gardens. The list is endless.
Against this background, the new mayor has inherited a city on the decline and, therefore, he has to dig deep into his political expertise to navigate the challenges, galvanise political support from all political parties represented in the council.
He must also secure the necessary financial support from the provincial and national governments to deliver on his vision and meet citizens’ expectations.
The task is daunting, full of challenges even though it is doable and the challenges are not insurmountable.
Considerations in executing his vision for the city
First, the mayor must tactfully mobilise political support from all political parties represented at the council to support his vision for the municipality. Their endorsement of his election was a positive step in the right direction.
However, he needs to capitalise on the political goodwill to fast-track the implementation of his vision and address the challenges facing the city. A failure to mobilise political support would mean his progress would be stymied by his political counterparts, either directly or indirectly.
Second, the new mayor must be courageous to engage all stakeholders in working with him to address the challenges in the municipality. Civil society and most citizen interest groups are keen to work with the municipality as partners in addressing the challenges.
However, the partnership must be based on principles of authenticity, transparency and integrity to rebuild trust between these critical stakeholders and his office. The timing of his deployment is perfect as it is time for him to review the Integrated Development Plan in light of the challenges.
There are glaring challenges that Xaba must re-engage communities about and seek consensus on how to address while balancing the fiscal constraints facing the municipality.
Third, the tightening of governance and promotion of accountability is non-negotiable. The new mayor brings along his credibility as a no-nonsense financial portfolio committee chair while he served in Parliament.
This credibility will come in handy as he tightens all governance loopholes that have characterised the previous city administration. Wasteful and irregular expenditure must be a thing of the past.
The new mayor must ensure consequence management is a norm in the municipality. The increasing incidences of poor performance, weak institutional accountability mechanisms, maladministration and corruption must be addressed urgently.
The mayor is entrusted with the responsibility of restoring confidence and trust among a demoralised taxpayer base, a fatigued workforce and a sceptical investor base (domestic, national and international).
He would do well to prioritise the challenges confronting businesses operating in the municipality to ensure that he curbs capital flight.
Fourth, Xaba must relook at his leadership model. It must transcend political loyalties and prioritise the interests of the citizens. This has been the missing link.
There are many eThekwini residents, irrespective of their political affiliations and despite their disillusionment, who are willing to work in partnership with the city, towards restoring its former glory. The success of Xaba’s term is directly proportionate to his ability to prioritise the interests of eThekwini residents.
They are yearning for results, for a visionary political leadership that values and cares for them. Anything short of this ideal would be costly come the 2026 local government elections.
In conclusion, the new mayor has a clear mandate to restore the city to its glorious days. He must promote good governance and ethical leadership as a norm.
Moreover, it must be a collective leadership, putting the interests of eThekwini residents at the centre of policy design and governance processes.
There has to be an urgency to clean up the municipal leadership to stabilise it and focus it on the concerns of the city dwellers – prompt, efficient, and citizen-centred service delivery.
This is his mission and mandate from the electorate. Can he deliver it? Only time will tell. Citizens and civil society will hold him and his team accountable for results.
* Dr Kariuki is the executive director of the Democracy Development Programme. He writes in his personal capacity.
** The views expressed in this article are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media