Big shake-up expected for Joburg this week
A mayoral shake-up in South Africa’s economic hub, Johannesburg, is in full motion as pressure mounts for current mayor Kabelo Gwamanda to step down despite avid resistance from his party and some of his coalition partners.
While the African National Congress (ANC) recently said that the city will have a new mayor by the end of this week, the party in the mayoral seat (Al Jama-Ah) has hit back, saying this “will not happen.”
For over a year, the City of Johannesburg—which has a highly fragmented council—has been led by a coalition comprising the ANC, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Patriotic Alliance (PA), and other smaller parties, including Al Jama-Ah (the party Gwamanda is part of).
Throughout Gwamanda’s tenure, there has been consistent pressure for him to step aside.
Most recently, the Johannesburg Crisis Alliance, made up of numerous civil society organisations, demanded his resignation, citing “inadequate leadership amidst a worsening governance crisis” in the country’s economic hub.
This put the ANC, who had once been avid backers of Gwamanda, in an awkward situation.
However, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on 4 August that the failure of governance in metros like Johannesburg significantly contributed to his ANC’s steep electoral decline in the 29 May national and provincial elections.
This has prompted the party to look at alternatives for a ‘stable government. With local government elections just over two years away, the ANC (which has the most votes in the council) is itching to get back into the mayoral seat.
The ANC in Joburg has been engaging with parties on the opposition benches, including ActionSA, to support it in regaining control of the council. ActionSA has agreed, on condition that (among others) Gwamanda is shown the door.
Gwamanda was expected to tender his resignation after the ANC and ActionSA meeting. However, this did not materialise, with the mayor citing support from other partners in the coalition, including the EFF and PA.
Despite this, on 3 August, the ANC said that Johannesburg would have a new mayor by the end of this week.
ANC Gauteng secretary Thembinkosi Nciza said that the time for Al Jama-Ah’s Gwamanda to step aside had arrived, citing deteriorating investor and business confidence in the country’s economic hub that contributes almost 20% to national GDP.
“Investors must have confidence in us, and businesses must have confidence in us. We need to create employment. Who is the best person to lead that cohort in making sure we turn Johannesburg around? Now that we all agree, we will be able to do so by the end of (the) week,” said Nciza.
“Now is the time we put this person [in place] who will take us forward so that we stabilise Johannesburg, and we are there,” he added.
The ANC secretary said that the party with the most seats in the council (itself) should be in the driving seat.
“This is not about Kabelo Gwamanda, but it’s about Al Jama-ah, the respect we have for them historically, and how they have always worked with us. We are not arrogant, we are not just about numbers, but we are saying there were problems at that time,” he said.
Not so fast
While the ANC in the province has said that this is Gwamanda’s last week as the City of Gold’s mayor, Al Jama-Ah leader Genief Hendricks said an ouster “will not happen.”
“I had a joint meeting with the provincial secretary of the ANC and the members of the regional committee who put that request on the table, and I did not agree to it,” Hendricks told Newzroom Afrika.
Hendricks said he agrees in principle with the ANC’s proposal that the party with the most seats should govern Joburg and decide on the mayor and the composition of the executive committee.
However, he noted that the ANC was unable to present a candidate that had the support of all nine members of the coalition of smaller parties, which led to the election of two consecutive Al Jama-ah mayors (Thapelo Amad resigned ahead of Gwamanda’s appointment).
“[Gwamanda] has successfully run the City of Joburg for one year, and that has been acknowledged by the provincial secretary who issued the statement that there will be a new mayor,” said Hendricks.
The Al Jama-ah leader said that as a trusted ally of the ANC in Johannesburg, the party will be open to discussing passing the baton when that time comes—but that time is not now.
What if Gwamanda does not resign?
Last week, ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba said that should Gwamanda refuse to resign, the party would propose a motion of no confidence in the council.
If the ANC and ActionSA were to vote in support of the hypothetical motion, that would give 135/270 votes in council, with other opposition parties who have been vocally critical of Gwamanda likely to vote to get the motion over the line.
Mashaba has said that if Gwamanda stays mayor, it will withdraw its conditional support for the ANC.
This move could disrupt the metro’s ability to pass budgets and secure loans, reminiscent of prior difficulties with a R2.5 billion loan approval. Eventually, ActionSA and the DA supported the 15-year loan.
It has been suggested that Dada Morero, who serves as the ANC’s chairperson in Johannesburg, could be the successor to Gwamanda if the ANC’s plans materialise.
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