The effects of the ANC’s national elective congress at the University of Limpopo last December, has intensified the bad blood between the political head of the Makhado Municipality, Cllr Glory Mashaba and her municipal manager, Ms Faith Muthambi.

The two women, both in strategic positions, have been embroiled in a power struggle since Mashaba was deployed by the ANC as the mayor of Makhado Municipality.

At one stage, Mashaba’s camp, led by Cllr Albert Muvhumbe, council chief whip, Cllr Rufus Selepe and Cllr Lindiwe Lowane were beaten hands down by Cllr Norman Mabila and Cllr Grace Nkanyane, when they tried to influence other Exco members to support ‘their wish’ of not renewing Muthambi’s contract by five more years. When council took a resolution to renew Muthambi’s contract by five more years, Mashaba reshuffled the Exco, and removed both Mabila and Nkanyane as full-time members of the Exco. They were replaced by Cllr Steven Matamela and Cllr David Mutavhatsindi.

Several ANC councillors at the Makhado Municipality, who requested to remain anonymous, alleged that Mashaba is currently working on a strategy on how best she can revoke the council resolution in order to show Muthambi the way.

"We have now realized that Mashaba came to the council to fight, not to carry out the mandate of our organization. The more she works on strategies to remove Muthambi, the more she is hindering service delivery," the councillor said.

"The streets and roads within our municipal area are full of potholes and ditches, and this is all because people are working on the basis of belonging to Muthambi or the mayor’s faction," said the source.

Another member of Exco, who is known to Mirror, said that everybody could now see that the ANC made a severe mistake when they deployed Mashaba to the Makhado Municipality. According to the member, Mashaba has no vision and is not politically matured. "It is very clear that she is not at the council to accelerate service delivery. How can she work on a plan to revoke a resolution taken by the majority of her organization’s councillors? There is no administration, because she is giving Muthambi a tough time. There is no other way, we will like to see the ANC leadership reconsidering to redeploy the mayor," said the Exco member.

Prior to the ANC national conference last December, Mashaba and Caroline Mahasela, mayor of Musina Local Municipality, were lobbying for Pres Thabo Mbeki to be re-elected as the party leader, while the provincial treasurer of the ANC Youth League in Limpopo, Muthambi, was obviously lobbying for ANC President Jacob Zuma.

"We thought that Mashaba would develop a change of heart, after we had strategically dumped her favourite candidate at the conference, but she is still fighting not remembering that within the ANC, there is a fighting unit (ANCYL)," said the source.

Mashaba is alleged to have teamed up with Cllr Albert Muvhumbe, chief whip Rufus Selepe, Cllr Lowane Lindiwe Hlungwane, and Cllr Steven Matamela.

When contacted telephonically this week, council chief whip, Cllr Rufus Selepe flatly denied the allegations. "This is news to me, we (Mashaba, Muvhumbe) don’t have such powers. This is not how we should start the new year, otherwise, we are starting it wrongly," he said.

According to Selepe, it is only the Regional leadership of the ANC that possesses such powers. He said that people are taking advantage of the mayor because she is quiet. "Others think that because the ANC Women’s League in the Province, preferred Pres Thabo Mbeki as their candidate at the conference, they wrongly concluded that Mashaba was also supportive of the move. I must say that Mashaba went to the conference representing her branch," he said.