Amad is out of his depth as Joburg mayor

Is the crazy Gauteng mayoral merry-go-round set to spin again? Not even ANC Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi, who has been pulling strings, knows what’s next.

Lesufi stirred uncertainty by telling a Sunday newspaper the election of Thapelo Amad of al-Jamah as Johannesburg mayor was a mistake. As if to prove Lesufi was correct, Amad went on TV talking gibberish about a multibillion-rand loan he was supposedly helping to arrange.

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Among those who expressed surprise at the loan was ANC Joburg caucus leader Dada Morero. As finance MMC, Morero should be fully apprised of discussions about such a loan but he told the Sowetan newspaper he knew nothing. Morero helped put Amad in the mayoral office in January.

Adding speculation to rumours of a Joburg mayoral change, Patriotic Alliance (PA) leader Gayton McKenzie said he wanted to withdraw from working with the ANC and EFF in Joburg. This after the PA was snubbed in the allocation of MMC seats in Ekurhuleni last week.

In that metro, five EFF MMCs were sworn in during a ceremony where ANC MMC nominees were absent. Ekurhuleni was left with half a mayoral committee.

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On Monday, in response to Amad’s “loan” TV interview, McKenzie tweeted: “This is really embarrassing, what is the mayor saying? … We cannot continue defending such stupidity, we must admit we played a part in this mess, we must fix our mistake soonest.”

In January, the PA’s switch of allegiance to the ANC/EFF resulted in the ousting of DA mayor Mpho Phalatse through a motion of no confidence. Now, McKenzie wants the same motion against Amad. His PA deputy, Kenny Kunene, doesn’t want to pull out. He would lose his job as Joburg’s transport MMC. Would potholes notice?

McKenzie says the PA national leadership will decide whether to withdraw. With eight seats, the PA can alter the balance of power in Joburg, toppling the ANC. In doing so, McKenzie could curtail Lesufi’s puppetry.

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On Sunday, Lesufi said: “The only major mistake we made was a Makwarela-type of a mayor, a Thapelo type of a mayor.”

Cope’s Murunwa Makwarela was briefly mayor of Tshwane before being accused of using fake documents. Lesufi said a “Colleen Makhubele-type” would have been more suitable.

Cope’s Makhubele is Joburg Council speaker, with minuscule electoral support. In the 2021 local elections, Cope won 0.22% of the Joburg vote, securing one proportional representation (PR) seat in the 270-seat in council.

Cope won zero wards. Al-Jamah won 0.95% of the Joburg vote. They have one ward and two PR seats. For these tiny parties – who together represent 1.17% of the Joburg vote – to occupy the two most senior elected positions of mayor and speaker is a perversion of democracy.

Amad is out of his depth as mayor. His foray into multibillion-rand loans shows how dangerous it is to have low-IQ puppets in these roles.

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If puppet master Lesufi thinks Makhubele would be an improvement, he hasn’t been paying attention to her disregard for rules and regulations, about which she seems ignorant. Joburg deserves better. Stand by for more mayoral merry-go-round madness, while service delivery suffers.