Johannesburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda is expected to announce a replacement for Human Settlements MMC, Anthea Leitch, following her resignation from the portfolio.
Leitch, who served in the city’s mayoral committee for over two years, resigned with immediate effect on Monday.
Details surrounding the Patriotic Alliance (PA) councillor’s resignation remain unclear.
Gwamanda said Leitch joined the Mayoral Committee in January 2022.
“Councillor Leitch has been a dependable and hardworking Member of the Mayoral Committee. She has shown great compassion and determination to address the pressing needs of housing in the city
“She has been instrumental in expediting the issuing of title-deeds to qualifying recipients and has been a diligent steward in overseeing the implementation of human settlements developments in and around the city. As the City we owe her a great deal of gratitude for her work and dedication in serving our residents and wish her well in her future endeavours,” said Gwamanda.
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Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has launched a petition against the R200 bill surcharge imposed by the City of Johannesburg on prepaid electricity residents.
This petition has garnered over 8,000 signatures thus far.
However, the move has been met with criticism from Gwamanda and netizens, who accuse the DA of hypocrisy and opportunism.
Gwamanda hit back at the DA, accusing them of sensationalising the electricity fee for political gain.
“The Democratic Alliance and its stooges are opportunistically sensationalising a sensitive matter that concerns us all. They are attempting to subvert Council decisions by arousing public sentiment under false pretences to gain political mileage,” he said.
Gwamanda said the surcharge is being implemented in DA-run councils across the country, including Cape Town and Tshwane.
“Any attempt to sabotage this critical intervention is an attempt to deliberately collapse the City’s infrastructure and to maintain the injustice of creating a two-tier tariff dispensation where post-paid customers pay and prepaid customers don’t,” he warned.
Addiitonal reporting by Enkosi Selane
ALSO READ: Thousands sign petition to scrap Joburg’s prepaid electricity charge
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