The councillor is Chris Mabunda of Ward 75. His most recent challenge is a petition from residents for his removal for failing in his duties. A ward committee member Senzonini Buthelezi said 500 residents signed the petition.
This after a service delivery meeting was aborted last week when Mabunda allegedly couldn’t explain why he hadn’t called community meetings since the provincial and national elections in May. Buthelezi said Mabunda was always unavailable to explain issues or to attend to residents’ problems.
Last month residents at Block D flats on Reverend Sam Buti Street were angered by Mabunda’s failure to help them get council officials to repair blocked sewerage pipes which overflowed into their rooms resulting damage to property. The residents, supported by ANC Youth League members, had to pay a private contractor to repair the pipes.
Recently, members of the local business forum also accused him of failing to resolve an issue with city officials who are alleged to be giving contracts for local maintenance work to external contractors instead of the agreed practice of awarding the work to local contractors.
At a hand-over of a petition by the youth council to the Joburg Development Agency demanding jobs, an ANC Youth League and council member Kenneth Mgaga expressed their displeasure with Mabunda’s leadership, calling him the most useless councillor. This was said in his presence.
In May, Mabunda was cited for misconduct during the provincial and national elections. He was accused of entering the space restricted to election officials and allegedly tampering with ballot papers. This resulted in violence and damage to the city council premises housing the electoral offices, allegedly by opposition parties’ members angered by his actions.
The alleged indiscretions were part of the complaints lodged with the electoral commission.
Opposition parties’ members involved in the violence were arrested for malicious damage to council property and their case is still pending in court.
In a radio interview recently, Mabunda said he wasn’t actively involved in ward matters because of the election-related accusations against him which are before the courts, but he attends to individual service delivery-related cases brought to him. He claimed that he was still ward councillor until 2016 and his party was happy with his performance.
