By Zukile Majova
Political Editor
The ruling party has already made it clear it doesn’t want to go to the 2024 national general elections with Al Jama-ah councillor Kabelo Gwamanda as the executive mayor.
At the moment, the city is run by the Al Jama-ah party that received 0.9% of the vote with the help of council speaker Colleen Makhubela whose party (Cope) also received less than 1% of the vote from Johannesburg residents.
Since September 2022, the city has had four mayors — Dr Mpho Phalatse (DA), Dada Morero (ANC), Thaphelo Amad (Al Jama-ah) and Kabelo Gwamanda (Al Jama-ah).
It’s a tale of the tail wagging the dog as the big parties (ANC and EFF) yielded power and responsibility to minority parties.
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently called for the ANC mayoral candidate Dada Morero to lead the ANC coalition as mayor.
Morero, the current Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) responsible for finance, was mayor for one month when the ANC illegally removed the then-DA mayor Dr Mpho Phalatse.
The courts overturned that decision.
This month, MMC for Transport Kenny Kunene of the Patriotic Alliance (PA) wrote to the council speaker calling for an investigation into the conduct of Morero whom he accuses of interfering with payments of suppliers.
“He instructed the Group CFO, Tebogo Moraka, not to channel funds to departments and entities falling under the PA’s oversight, effectively creating the unacceptable situation that the citizens of Johannesburg wouldn’t get service delivery from the departments of Transport and Human Settlements,” said Kunene.
On Tuesday, the EFF accused the ANC of hijacking EFF projects to gain political mileage.
The two parties clashed at a ceremony to mark the renaming of William Nicol Drive to Winnie Mandela Drive.
ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula has also expressed his frustration with both the EFF coalition and the absentee mayor Kabelo Gwamanda.
Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu had to intervene in the ongoing Joburg water crisis that has resulted in some communities not having water since early August.
“Had water not been a Constitutional right, I wouldn’t have had to come here even with the mayor not present. He is the political head of the city,” Mchunu told a gathering of angry residents in Johannesburg.
“My suggestion is that we should get the mayor of Johannesburg here. He is the mayor, I’m not the mayor.”
As the cracks emerge in the ANC coalition, the DA-led coalition that ran the city after the 2021 municipal elections has effectively collapsed with the DA and ActionSA not supporting each other’s motions in the council.
Pictured above: The EFF at the renaming of William Nicol Drive
Image source: Twitter
