Challenges galore await the new City of Joburg mayor following Kabelo Gwamanda's resignation, which includes pothole-riddled roads, water shortages, sewage spills, illegal power connections and outages, neglected buildings, and a filthy CBD.
This comes after City of Johannesburg Mayor Gwamanda resigned from office, following weeks of huge pressure and claims of incompetence, with his tenure labelled as “disastrous”.
Gwamanda, who became City of Joburg mayor in May 2023, following Mpho Phalatse’s ouster, has resigned after civil organisations and political parties accused him of failing to meet mayoral standards.
He departs under a shadow of failure, as residents slam his poor service delivery and unimpressive track record as mayor.
Aupa Ngwato from Maboneng lamented that over the past decade, the Joburg CBD has faced persistent challenges, with no effective solutions.
Ngwato said the new mayor must focus on building consistency and continuity to address the existing issues at the mayoral office.
“The problem is that once the leadership has been concurrently changed or disruptively changed, as we know that the City right now is going towards eight mayors who have never even finished their term, the problem that we are having is one where we lack consistency.”
He said this instability creates a major opening for corruption, crime, and fraud at both the mayoral and provincial levels.
Enos Maake, from Zandspruit informal settlement in the north of Joburg, said the new mayor must immediately attend to the Pikitup scandalous recruitment process.
Maake is the leader of the Combat Movement, a community-based organisation that assists people to get jobs and uproot corruption in government.
“The new mayor must release a forensic report into the widespread allegations of nepotism and corruption at Pikitup on the recruitment of general workers, and to recommend the absorption of all the EPWP workers and casual workers," he told IOL News.
In May, Maake led a protest with casual workers and volunteers from Pikitup Randburg Depot, alleging that 300 people were hired through nepotism and corruption.
“In addition, the mayor must also create access roads in all informal settlement areas for emergency services, and fix potholes in townships, and regularise informal settlements.”
Zandspruit is one of Gauteng’s largest informal settlements with over 30,000 residents living in shacks and tapping into illegal power. Maake is calling on the new mayor to take action and electrify the area and other communities.
“The mayor must strike a deal with Eskom, to grant City Power a mandate to electrify informal settlements, as this will minimise under-reported electrocution of innocent children. It will also, by large, generate revenue for the city when everyone is connected legally and safely.”
In addition, Maake also called for more frequent repairs and maintenance of faulty transformers in townships.
“The City’s properties, abandoned buildings in Joburg CBD, taxi ranks, parks and other important infrastructures must be maintained,” he said.
Political analyst Goodenough Mashego said Gwamanda's tenure was doomed from the very start, as he was surrounded by incompetent MMCs.
“It was not going to work because he worked with people who were incompetent. Kenny Kunene as the MMC for Transport was just not going to work because there were a whole lot of people who came in just for the sake of forming a government,” he told IOL News.
“Gwamanda will be remembered for the failure that he was.”
Mashego described Gwamanda’s administration as chaotic, leaving the City in its current state of disrepair.
“His administration was chaotic and has put Joburg where it is right now. It is a city, but a ghost town where people don't even want to come into the city itself, and go around it.”
He said the decay, abandoned buildings, and lack of service delivery are evident as soon as you enter the city, but Gwamanda shouldn’t be blamed alone.
“It was the time that this investment unravelled, and it cannot really be blamed on him alone. The mismanagement over the years, including the ANC mayors, were there and started unravelling.”
Yesterday, the African National Congress (ANC) in Gauteng, nominated Finance MMC Dada Morero for the mayoral position and expressed hope in him that he will take the CoJ to its former glory.
However, Mashego said he doubts Morero has what it takes to be mayor, someone with gravitas and experience.
“The qualities of a new mayor should be a travelled mayor who has been to New York, Rio de Janeiro, Paris, Berlin, Beijing, Nairobi and Logos, somebody who understands planning and the use of structure and spatial planning,” he said.
On Friday, August 16, the election of the new executive mayor to lead the City of Joburg will take place.
IOL