Gauteng mayors delay forming mayoral committees due to ongoing coalition talks

• Mayors in Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane have yet to finalise mayoral committees a week after the council's first sitting.
• The DA has engaged a variety of parties as it seeks to form coalition governments.
• The delay in coalition talks has impacted the formation of mayoral committees.

After being elected to office, the mayors of Gauteng's major metros have yet to announce their mayoral committees.

Ekurhuleni, Johannesburg and Tshwane elected DA councillors as mayors, but the finalisation of the committees has hit a snag. 

The delay has been attributed to ongoing coalition talks. 

The DA has been engaging a variety of political parties, including ActionSA and Freedom Front Plus, in an effort to form coalition agreements in the metros. 

The party's Federal Executive is expected to meet on Friday, where coalitions will be on the agenda.

News24 approached each mayor's office and was told the final decisions would be made in the coming days.

Mayoral committee members assist the mayor in providing political oversight in the running of a municipal government. 

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All three mayors have indicated the urgency to finalise coalitions agreements to ensure governance and oversight. 

Ekurhuleni's mayor, Tania Campbell, said she wanted to finalise each department, in order to streamline service delivery. 

She hoped that, by Friday, a solid mayoral committee would be formed.

Campbell said:

In Tshwane, the mayor, Randall Williams, indicated that he also wanted to finalise his committee, so as to provide urgent oversight. 

His chief of staff, Jordan Griffiths, said it was standard procedure that the mayoral committee was finalised only after a coalition discussion.

In Johannesburg, where the picture looks similar, News24 reported that the DA had met with ActionSA earlier this week as part of coalition talks. 

The mayor, Mpho Phalatse, said her committee would consist of opposition political parties - if the DA's national leadership was able to finalise agreements.