Former Johannesburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda. Picture: Omer Taha Cetin/Anadolu via Getty Images/Gallo Images
The fact that former Joburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda was not vetted prior to taking up the mayoral post raises serious concerns regarding vetting processes.
Governance professor at the Central University of Technology Bernard Sebake said the accusations levelled against Gwamanda should have been thoroughly addressed through proper vetting.
“It reflects inconsistencies within government and promotes mediocrity. If we don’t strengthen the vetting process, we weaken state institutions and governance.”
“Leaders must uphold integrity as cases like Gwamanda’s erode public trust and undermine their leadership, compromising efforts to serve the public good,” Sebake said.
This follows remarks from Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi, who expressed doubt that Gwamanda underwent vetting before becoming mayor.
Lesufi said councillor Thapelo Amad, the first Al Jama-ah candidate to be appointed mayor, was vetted by the ANC and no issues arose from the background checks.
However, when Al Jama-ah replaced Amad with Gwamanda, the same scrutiny was not applied.
In 2023, Sasabona Manganye, the ANC regional secretary, said the party vetted him and dismissed the allegations as “gossip and rumour-mongering”.
Similarly, Ganief Hendricks, leader of Al Jama-ah, reassured the public that vetting had been done and Gwamanda had a clean record.
Sebake emphasised that this situation highlights gaps in South Africa’s political system, where crucial vetting processes are sometimes overlooked, leading to potentially severe consequences for governance and public trust.
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He added although political parties rely on the Electoral Commission of SA’s vetting process, they should also conduct internal vetting to ensure their candidates meet the required standards.
“It’s becoming a growing trend. We continue to see individuals with questionable histories being appointed to senior positions.
“This shows that political influence can override the vetting process, as seen with Gwamanda, which is a loophole that could lead to governance issues later,” Sebake said.
Political analyst Sandile Swana said many politicians had questionable records and non-vetting and criminality were the norm in South African politics.
In 2023, the standing committee on public accounts urged government to improve the efficiency of its vetting system.
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“Many ministers, mayors and members of parliament are implicated in scandals. Academic qualifications and CVs are not verified. Political appointments operate in the grey areas of risk management,” he said.
“Party loyalty and malleability in the hands of party bosses is a crucial criterion for selection,” Swana said.
Political analyst Goodenough Masego said vetting had declined significantly under former President Jacob Zuma’s leadership. He referred to the tenures of Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki, when vetting was stringent.
“The vetting process was so robust that people couldn’t hold roles in committees or high-level government positions without being vetted,” he said.
Masego said putting unvetted people into key roles compromised national security.
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