Former ANC Chief Whip, Vaaiboom Enters Buffalo City Mayoral Race Under MKP Banner

Former African National Congress (ANC) Chief Whip in Buffalo City Metro, Mzwandile Vaaiboom, has emerged as the mayoral candidate of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) in the metro.

Vaaiboom had a short stint with the Independent South African National Civic Organisation (ISANCO), a breakaway from the South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO) and stood as its Eastern Cape premier candidate in the 2024 general elections before re-emerging as the MKP mayoral candidate.

His political and public-sector experience predates his entry into the Buffalo City council. He worked for the South African Police Service (SAPS) as a personnel officer and later as a principal personnel officer before serving as a senior communication officer.

During that period, he was also the SACP branch secretary from 2000 to 2005 and also served as a local secretary for the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU).

Vaaiboom joined the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality in 2011 as an ANC proportional representation (PR) councillor and chaired the municipal ad hoc committee on health and public safety, which was established to implement recommendations made by Ernst & Young.

He also served on a multi-party committee, chaired by the Speaker, which focused on the functioning of ward committees. Buffalo City deployed him to serve as a board member of the Mayibuye Transport Corporation from 2012 to 2015.

The ANC deployed Vaaiboom as its Chief Whip in 2015, following a reconfiguration of its council leadership that saw the late Alfred Mtsi installed as mayor and Xola Pakati as deputy mayor, ahead of the 2016 local government elections.

It was a critical period for the ANC in Buffalo City, following criminal charges against the then-sitting mayor, Zukiswa Ncitha, her deputy, Themba Tinta, Speaker Luleka Simon-Ndzele, and several councillors and administrative officials over their alleged involvement in fraud, corruption and contraventions of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA).

The charges stemmed from Buffalo City Municipality’s alleged unlawful and irregular procurement relating to the death and memorial activities of world icon Nelson Mandela. Vaaiboom was retained as Chief Whip after the ANC maintained its council majority in the 2016 local government elections, but he did not return to council after the 2021 local government elections.

Speaking during a wide-ranging interview with veteran broadcaster Keith Ngesi of Keith Ngesi Radio, Vaaiboom said his decision to leave the ANC was driven by what he describes as the organisation’s failure to respond to concerns he raised about service delivery in his community. “I grew up in the struggle and loving change for the people. That is why I was part of the struggle at a young age,” said Vaaiboom.

Watch the full interview below.

Vaaiboom became active in politics at the tender age of 13 in 1986, after being recruited to join the Mzintshane Youth Organisation, a cultural and sporting organisation in Dimbaza. Through the organisation’s activities, he was introduced to the national struggle against apartheid in 1987.

He joined the ANC in 1991, after the organisation was unbanned, and played an active role in the relaunch of the ANC Youth League in 1992. He was also involved in student movements led by the Congress of South African Students (COSAS) while attending Amahleke Senior Secondary School. In 1995, he was recruited into the South African Communist Party (SACP) and established a branch in Mzintshane.

Vaaiboom said he would serve the residents of Buffalo City by addressing their daily struggles in the municipality. He singled out residents of Ward 36 in New Rest Location, who were placed on a housing list in 2023, but some were later removed from the list.

He also raised concerns about water shortages in parts of the community, saying he had repeatedly reported the issues to various ANC and municipal structures. “I have been fighting those issues such that I even went to the Human Rights Commission. I started at the ward councillor, the mayor, the relevant MMC and the organisation,” he said.

According to Vaaiboom, his concerns were not adequately addressed despite being raised through several channels.

He said his engagement with the MK Party eventually led him to join the organisation, which he believes provides another platform to pursue issues affecting residents. “I joined the struggle to liberate people, and I saw that if the ANC is ignoring me, I do not know the reasons they were not responding to those issues,” he said.

Vaaiboom said that, if elected mayor, one of his priorities would be to address Buffalo City’s water infrastructure and billing challenges. He also proposed changes to the municipality’s procurement model, arguing that some work currently outsourced through tenders could instead be undertaken by municipal employees.

“Let us do away with the tendering system and employ people in the municipality who can do these jobs,” he said.