The calls for the removal of Joburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda have intensified as the Joburg Crisis Alliance (JCA) gears up to hold a picket at the Metro Centre on Saturday.
The JCA, an alliance of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, the Rivonia Circle, Action for Accountability and Defend our Democracy, held a media briefing at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg on Thursday, urging people to join the picket against tariff increases and in support of the call for Gwamanda’s resignation.
Outa CEO Wayne Duvenage said that although the mayor had inherited a broken metro, the need for ethical leadership was dire as the local government was facing corruption, mismanagement of funds and delayed infrastructure development.
In a city racked with litter, poor infrastructure and water outages, Duvenage pointed out that the R200 electricity surcharge on customers on prepaid meters imposed by Gwamanda and his committee was the final straw as residents would have to dig deep into their pockets to pay for energy in the midst of an economy that was financially stretched.
He said the protest would signify the outrage of civic organisations and residents.
“The residents are getting fed up. The infrastructure of the city is collapsing, there are billing errors. We have seen the city rather turning to push costs to its residents, especially for prepaid users for additional service charges. It is time for change. We are not only calling for mayor Gwamanda, but his entire committee. We live in a democracy, and protest actions are one of those elements we get people to come and voice their concerns. We cannot allow the economic hub of South Africa to get into a state of gross repair. Our message as JCA will go to the Presidency,” said Duvenage.
Tessa Dooms, from the Rivonia Circle, slammed Gwamanda and his committee for enjoying bloated salaries, while residents are living in horrid conditions in parts of Johannesburg.
She said people in Kliptown had not had electricity for a long time. Therefore, the mayor must be ousted in favour of a new government that would prioritise rendering services for residents and developing infrastructure.
“It is very clear that there is a sense of discontent in every part of the city. We waited for politicians to change the city – that is why we have coalitions because we did not trust politicians to be advocates of the city. If there is no political consequence, then we will never see change. We cannot wait for another election to make changes.
“The situation is too dire. We spoke to a number of people, such as in Kliptown. They don’t have electricity, before we even talked about the tariff. There are areas where people don’t have water and electricity. There is a chronic underspending on infrastructure, but salaries are bloated. We deserve better as residents,” she said.
Speaking to The Star, member of the mayoral committee for finance, Dada Morero, emphasised that the surcharge did not warrant his resignation.
Instead, he noted that tariff hikes were not new. In fact, the city had the lowest tariff rates among metros, he said.
“After extensive public participation during the Integrated Development Planning (IDP), the council approved the report for the city to implement the surcharge. The executive committee (Exco), which is led by the mayor, will embark on the review process and will look at the current prepaid model, the city’s tax base and regulations as per Nersa (National Energy Regulator of SA),” said Morero.
Currently, Morero is tipped to replace Gwamanda as mayor in an ANC and ActionSA coalition.
Eyewitness News reported that the South African Local Government Association (Salga) said the scrapping of the surcharge would affect the Johannesburg municipality’s revenues for the next financial year in 2025.
In his budget speech earlier in the year, Morero said the city’s revenue was mostly sourced from property rates.
“It will then have to be factored into the budget and the budget would have to be reprioritised and that would include reprioritising spending,” said Salga’s chief of operations, Lance Joel.