WATCH: Joburg mayor says civil society organisations calling for his removal are ‘elitist’

The Joburg Crisis Alliance on Thursday added its voice to a growing chorus of calls for the removal of City of Johannesburg (CoJ) mayor Kabelo Gwamanda.

It said, at a media briefing at Constitution Hill, this decision was made in light of a “significant decline in citizen confidence and trust” in the leadership of the mayor and his mayoral committee.

Organisations that form a part of the Joburg Crisis Alliance and called for Gwamanda’s removal include the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), Action for Accountability, Defend Our Democracy, Johannesburg Inner-City Partnership and Rivonia Circle.

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Mayor says he is serving well

The mayor hit back, saying he was being attacked by elitists.

Gwamanda told any young and previously disadvantaged black person to “steer clear” of positions that are “reserved for those who create access for the elite”.

“Unfortunately, they can’t bring an issue of corruption because that has never been part of my administration,” the Al Jama-ah councillor told Kaya News.

“We have served the city, we have served under good governance and we had ensured that the historical challenges of the City of Johannesburg are being responded to.”

The mayor said he was being blamed for 55-year-old infrastructure that should have been replaced in the last 10 years.

He added that his administration was implementing strategies to respond to these maintenance challenges, and residents had been informed that maintenance would disrupt service delivery.

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Watch Gwamanda’s response below:

Water crisis and arrogance of officials highlighted

The Joburg Crisis Alliance said since its establishment last year it had seen a regression in the quality of services being rendered by the City of Johannesburg and its entities.

It listed the following recent failures:

• The “arrogant, uncaring and insensitive” handling of the electricity surcharge and tariff increase by the city and ongoing widespread electricity outages;
• The “contemptuous and disdainful” press statement issued by the mayor labelling Johannesburg residents who raised their concerns about the electricity surcharge as “stooges”;
• Intermittent water supplies since 2023 and prolonged water cuts in recent weeks despite public assurances by Joburg Water that water supply is being managed adequately, resulting in street protests in different parts of the city;
• The admission by the MMC of Finance that the city needs to loan an amount of R2.5 billion from Agence Française de Dévelopement (AFD) to cover budget shortfalls;
• The virtual collapse of services in terms of road maintenance, cleanliness and the provision of affordable housing; and
• The assassination of a lead investigator into corruption in the city.

“We do not believe that Councillor Gwamanda and his team has the requisite skills and capability to resolve the deepening governance crisis in Johannesburg,” the alliance said in a statement.

“Further, the mayor and his mayoral committee seem to lack genuine concern for the well-being of Johannesburg and its residents. Hence, our call that Mayor Gwamanda must resign and that a new leadership must be installed in the city.”

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The organisations demanded his resignation, a review of the recent pre-paid electricity tariffs, an end to unplanned water cuts and provision of emergency water to under-served communities, an end to unplanned electricity load reduction, measures to combat corruption and protect whistle-blowing, as well as transparent consultation with civil society, business and labour in the governance of the city.

It said this call for change in leadership is not made in favour of any political party.