Gwamanda resigns: ANC appoints finance MMC Dada Morero amid coalition talks

The African National Congress (ANC) in Johannesburg said Kabelo Gwamanda merely “held the fort” and his resignation was a mutual agreement between himself, his party and the ANC.

The regional leadership of the ANC held a media briefing on Tuesday following the resignation of now-former Johannesburg mayor Gwamanda.

Gwamanda, a councillor for Al Jama-ah, was the ninth mayor of the City of Joburg since the 2016 local government elections.

Calls for his resignation or dismissal escalated in recent weeks, with opposition parties and civil society organisations arguing that his tenure has been marked by significant failures.

According to ANC Joburg secretary, Sasabona Manganye, Gwamanda’s resignation bares no bad blood between Al Jama-ah and ANC.

Manganye said four separate meetings were held with Gwamanda and the president of Al Jama-ah, Ganief Hendricks, respectively to hand over the mayorship and “no issues” arose.

Gwamanda out: Appointment of Joburg’s new mayor on horizon

With a new executive mayor expected to be elected in a council meeting to be held on Friday, the ANC Joburg has announced the regional party’s resolution to nominate Finance MMC, Dada Morero, as a candidate to replace Gwamanda.

“Councillor Dada Morero will be taking the leadership of mayorship in Johannesburg. He will be able to inspire confidence in the people of Johannesburg and ensure the acceleration of service delivery,” said Manganye.

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Manganye acknowledged the work that still needs to be done in order to address the issue of service delivery. He emphasised the need to introduce and reinforce bylaws in the city, particularly in the central business district (CBD).

He attributed the tardiness of the district to street vendors whom he said often did not operate in their designated areas causing the city to be dirty and back to square one before midday.

Local government coalitions

Questions about the progression of coalitions arose with the appointment of a new mayor on the horizon.

However, ANC Joburg deputy secretary, Loyiso Masuku, clarified that the party would not dismantle its partnerships with the minority parties it was already in bed with. These include the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and ActionSA.

She refuted the allegations of using Gwamanda and other mayors as guinea pigs from minority parties.

Masuku emphasised this point by saying the minority parties were aware that mayoral positions “belong to the ANC”.

“There are no guinea pigs, we are not snatching any position from anybody. We are taking our rightful place as the leader of society to provide services to the people of Johannesburg.”

ALSO READ: New Johannesburg mayor to be elected on Friday

According to Manganye, attempts to engage the Democratic Alliance to participate in issues relating to regional politics and the city council failed. He said the party’s local government said only Helen Zille had the authority to partake in coalition negotiations.

“We don’t have any relationship with Helen Zille, we can’t engage Helen Zille. We can engage her local leadership, if her local leadership has no mandate then it means we can’t have coalition discussions with the DA,” Manganye added.

The ANC has also had coalition talks with other minority parties including the Freedom Front Plus and ACDP, however, Manganye said the finalisation of these talks would be decided once or if the parties’ national leaders gave the go-ahead.

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