Al Jama-ah's Kabelo Gwamanda was elected as the new mayor of Johannesburg at Braamfontein, Council Chambers on 5 May 2023. Picture: Nigel Sibanda
The ActionSA has called for City of Johannesburg mayor, Kabelo Gwamanda, to come clean after being accused of being a scammer or face a possible motion of no confidence.
He is expected to deliver his first State of the City Address on Tuesday.
Gwamanda, an Al Jama-ah councillor, was elected the city’s fifth mayor at a special council sitting in the beginning of May after receiving 139 votes.
He was opposed by former Joburg mayor and Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mpho Phalatse who received 68 votes, while ActionSA councillor Funzi Ngobeni got 59.
Shortly after he was appointed, Phalatse gave Gwamanda 48 hours to come clean about his role in an alleged ponzi scheme that ripped off many people.
READ MORE: Phalatse to lay charges against new Joburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda
“We cannot allow the economic capital of South Africa to be run by a mayor who is facing serious allegations of scamming residents of funeral insurance investments at a time when service delivery is on the decline across the city – with potholes, power outages and water shedding all on the rise.
“Since his election in May, Gwamanda has consistently ducked from media opportunities to come clean over the serious allegations he is facing. Having missed a press conference, he organised himself, to explain the situation,” said Ngobeni in a statement.
ActionSA also emphasised that Gwamanda could not remain mayor at a time when he is accused of scamming the very residents of the city he swore to serve.
The party said it also believed that while he is a compromised candidate between the ANC-EFF, he has consistently proved that he is not able to bring a vision to life that will restore good governance and service delivery.
“This means the residents of Johannesburg have been left to fend for themselves while the ANC-EFF elect a compromised candidate in order for them to remain in power in the City of Johannesburg.
“ActionSA, a party committed to ethical leadership, remains committed to the residents of Johannesburg and that is why we are demanding accountability. Johannesburg is simply too important to allow the ANC-EFF and Mayor Gwamanda to get away with theatrics and possible criminality.”
On 5 May 2023 Al Jama-ah leader Ganief Hendricks denied the claims, saying Gwamanda was vetted by both the party and the African National Congress (ANC) before being elected.
He told The Citizen that prior to Al Jama-ah deploying Gwamanda as its representative for mayor in the City of Joburg, it asked for public objections.
“We did our vetting as a political party, but we wanted independent vetting as well before we proceeded with putting our candidates’ names in the hat. The ANC did a very thorough vetting as well and there was a show of solidarity for Gwamanda.
“So, this is just a sour grape. She has been evicted twice by the City of Joburg and now she is trying to be relevant,” Hendricks said.
ALSO READ: Joburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda no-show at press briefing
Additional reporting by Faizel Patel.
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