Members of the African National Congress in Johannesburg are marching to the City of Johannesburg offices to demand that mayor Herman Mashaba reinstate the Jozi@Work programme and free water supply.
The march, which started at Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown, attracted thousands of supporters from various zones of the region led by the newly elected leadership of the party.
The ANC lost the metro following the 2016 local government elections after the Democratic Alliance (DA) won and formed alliances with small parties including the Economic Freedom Fighters.
Some of the programmes that the previous administration had introduced were scrapped by the DA and now the ANC wants Mashaba to reinstate them.
They demand that the mayor reinstate the 6 000 litres of free water supply to the residents of Joburg and the Jozi@Work programme that provided the unemployed with temporary jobs. They are also demanding free wi-fi across the city.
Speaking to North Eastern Tribune, the ANC’s chairperson of the region Geoff Makhubo said they were marching to an ‘illegitimate’ mayor of Joburg, in reference to Mashaba.
“We are going to tell him he is an illegitimate mayor of Johannesburg because he was not elected by the people of Johannesburg,” added Makhubo.
“We are also going to demand free water, the reinstatement of Jozi@Work, bakeries and jobs because those were there during the administration of the ANC.”
Makhubo urged members to maintain discipline and not to loot informal traders’ stock to avoid negative publicity.
Mncebo Dlamini of the #FeesMustfall also addressed the marchers.
