The African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has welcomed the unopposed election of Cyril Xaba to the position of mayor of eThekwini municipality, expressing confidence in his election.

Xaba was elected as the new mayor during a special council meeting on Wednesday at the Durban Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre.

The mayor’s seat became vacant in June after the ANC in KZN removed former mayor Mxolisi Kaunda and redeployed him to the National Council of Provinces.

The party stated that Xaba is the right leader to lead the reconfiguration of the city to ensure that it responds to the needs of residents and businesses.

The party believes Xaba has enough experience to deliver good and clean governance, while putting a strong focus on “caring and responsive” service delivery.

“He understands that all political parties in the city represent the aspirations of the people. He will, therefore, ensure the cooperation of all political parties to ensure the reconfiguration of the municipal committees. This will strengthen the oversight role over the city's administration to usher in efficiency and speed in service,” the party highlighted.

The ANC reiterated that it had no doubt that Xaba would usher in a new era of accelerated service delivery.

“As we pointed out weeks ago, the people of eThekwini have a right to shape their socioeconomic development trajectory. And more importantly, as voters, it is within your right to determine the pace of service delivery,” the ANC said.

Over the years, Xaba had displayed exceptional administration skills and a deep understanding of policy formulation and implementation, the party said.

“It is for these reasons that in 2009 he was entrusted with the responsibility of being the Head of Secretariat of the first Planning Commission in any province in South Africa,” the ANC noted.

Modelled alongside the National Planning Commission, Xaba spearheaded the development of Vision 2030, a long-term growth and development strategy, effectively making KZN the first province to have such a planning commission and a long-term vision for the province and its people, the party said.