Long wait for new KZN premier almost over

The new premier will take over just seven months before national elections‚ which are due to take place in April next year.

This appointment is likely to precipitate a change in the cabinet‚ with new MECs being included and possible reshuffling expected.

Sources close to the ruling African National Congress say the party's provincial chairman‚ Senzo Mchunu - who is also the acting premier and MEC for Education - has cracked the nod from the ANC's deployment committee‚ which is headed by secretary-general Gwede Mantashe‚ and that the voting session in the legislature is merely a formality.

All the Mchunus

The ANC in the province submitted the following names for the position of premier: Senzo Mchunu; KZN Transport‚ Community Safety and Liaison MEC Willies Mchunu; and KZN Co-operative Governance MEC Nomusa Dube.

If someone other than Senzo Mchunu is appointed‚ it will mean the ANC in the province will have to contend with two centres of power as it heads towards the elections.

KZN Judge President Chiman Patel will preside over the election and swearing-in of the new premier and several high-profile people are expected to attend the ceremony.

Political analyst Protas Madlala said that it was critical the new premier was able to unite the different factions of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal.

"Since the elections are around the corner he has to be the face of the party and ensure that people in the province have faith in the ANC. He can do this by carrying on the legacy left behind by his predecessors S'bu Ndebele and Zweli Mkhize‚" said Madlala.

Lots to be done

Democratic Alliance KwaZulu-Natal leader Sizwe Mchunu said the new premier would have his work cut out for him because he would be taking over from a premier who was always away from the province on ANC duties.

"He will be under immense (pressure) to make KwaZulu-Natal a safe and viable province. For example, he will have to come up with workable solutions on how he will fight crime‚" said Mchunu.

He said: "The new premier will also have to deal with huge levels of corruption in the municipalities that leads to the stalling of service delivery."

Blessed Gwala‚ Inkatha Freedom Party leader in the Legislature‚ said: "We need someone with a cool head and someone who is focused on the province's many challenges. The previous premier (Mkhize) was not focused because this year he would say: 'these are the priorities'‚ and the following year he would say (other aspects were priorities) and there was no consistency at all.

"We don't want that anymore because this province needs to grow economically‚" said Gwala.