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The ANC in Emalahleni, Mpumalanga, has written to the party’s provincial bosses requesting that mayor Conny Nkalitshana, speaker Mduduzi Nkosi and chief whip Qondile Maseko be recalled due to the leadership chaos in the municipality.
On Thursday, angry protestors took to the streets. They closed off the N4 highway for almost the entire day, demanding restoration of electricity following the collapse of the transformer, which caused a blackout for more than two weeks. A 13-year-old boy was fatally shot in the head allegedly by police, while a 42-year-old man was also fatally shot with what looks like pellets. The protesters also stoned Nkalitshana after she addressed them. On the 12th of May, the Emalahleni mayor was attacked for allegedly saying locals don't need power as they don't own refrigerators.
The municipality denies she made such a statement and blames someone else. The ANC has seen dwindling support in Emalahleni over the years, receiving 50.58% of the votes in the 2021 local government elections and 59.56% in the 2016 polls. Matshonga said the electricity problems in the area started about six months ago and were compounded by illegal connections. The ANC has also seen dwindling support in Emalahleni, receiving 50.58% of the votes in the 2021 local government elections and 59.56% in the 2016 polls.
ANC's Mpumalanga chairperson Mandla Ndlovu said they are considering the recommendations by the Nkangala region, but those recommendations remain until they are considered by the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC).
The PEC met with the municipality three weeks ago to discuss the Troika’s squabbles. The mayor, chief whip and the speaker wanted to be assisted in working in the same direction. Ndlovu said the PEC would be happy if municipal officials could work together and help the community. Maseko said she was not aware of the weekend meeting of the branches. Nkosi said he could not comment, but "I'll say I'm serving at the behest of the voters that gave my organisation power to lead the council".
Nkalitshana did not respond to calls and texts sent to her for comment. The power outage concerned occurred due to damage to the main transformer in the area, resulting in it having to be sent to the manufacturer for repairs. Installation was expected to begin on May 13 and will take several days to be completed.
