After weeks of political wrangling, the inept Kabelo Gwamanda has resigned as mayor of the City of Johannesburg, according to a statement he released on Tuesday morning.
He noted that he had submitted his resignation to the Council Speaker, adding, “As the youngest mayor of Johannesburg, I am humbled by the opportunity to have led this City and to have stabilised it financially and administratively following the collapse of the multiparty coalition government.”
Gwamanda said he would “continue to serve the people of Johannesburg as a councillor”, News24 reported.
The Al Jama-ah politician took office in May last year, making him the eighth mayor in two years.
His tiny party holds just three seats in the municipal council, and Gwamanda’s appointment by the ANC, EFF, and minority parties was more about keeping the DA out in the hung metro, while the ANC held backroom power.
Gwamanda’s tenure has been fraught with corruption allegations, service delivery issues, and a contentious new R200 electricity surcharge. Pressure has mounted for his departure, and it seems the ANC turned its back on what was effectively their puppet mayor.
It is thought that the finance MMC Dada Morero (of the ANC) will replace Gwamanda. He previously held the mayoral position for 25 days in 2022. Now that’s what we call a cameo!
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba, who served as mayor for the DA from 2016 to 2019, has been key in pushing for Gwamanda’s exit. While Mashaba once swore never to work with the ANC, his party has said it will vote with the ANC to replace the current mayor if it gets the speaker positions in both Johannesburg and Tshwane, a crucial oversight and accountability role. They also want the R200 electricity surcharge for prepaid electricity consumers scrapped.
Now that Gwamanda has resigned without being voted out with ActionSA’s help, it’s not clear if the ANC will give ActionSA what it wants. The ANC in Gauteng, generally, and the City of Johannesburg in particular, has been open to working with the EFF, despite a decision not to do so at the national level in the Government of National Unity.
The DA, meanwhile, continues to reject any coalition that includes the ANC and EFF while also opposing ActionSA’s strategy of making deals with these parties.
Joburg council has 270 seats. No party won a majority after the 2021 local government election results:
- ANC: 91 seats
- DA: 71 seats
- ActionSA: 44 seats
- EFF: 29 seats
