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Johannesburg Fails To Elect Mayor, Gordhan Heads To China For Talks On Transnet

SOUTH AFRICA
  • South Africa's richest city failed to elect a new Executive Mayor at an emergency Council meeting yesterday, highlighting the ongoing problems with the stability of provincial coalitions. Councillors decided to postpone the election until Friday after the African National Congress (ANC) struggled to agree on a joint candidate with its junior allies. Business Day reported that the ANC and EFF eventually agreed that Kabelo Gwamanda of the Al Jama-ah party will be their mayoral candidate.
  • Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has left for China where his delegation will meet with local counterparts to facilitate the delivery of locomotives and spare parts to Transnet. The state-owned company has been engaged in legal battles with China's rail equipment maker CRRC E-Loco after it said that contracts for the supply of 1,064 locomotives were awarded unlawfully by the previous management. An impasse in talks with the Chinese supplier has exacerbated South Africa's ongoing logistics crisis, which has added fuel to price pressures.
  • Gordhan's hearing before parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) related to the Eskom situation has been pushed back as a result of the Minister's foreign trip, with a new date to be confirmed once he returns. The hearings of the Eskom Board and Presidential Advisor Sydney Muhamadi have also been delayed. A statement on the National Assembly's website notes that lawmakers will meet with the Eskom Board on May 10, with Gordhan on May 17 and with Mufamadi on May 23.

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