City of Joburg to elect new mayor next week after council sitting cancelled

The City of Joburg will elect a new mayor next week following the postponement of the metropolitan municipality’s council sitting.

MMC dissolves

The city was set to convene a special council meeting on Tuesday, however, there has been a change of plans due to Al Jama-ah councillor Thapelo Amad’s resignation as mayor.

“The cancellation was necessitated by the resignation of the executive mayor, councillor Thapelo Amad, as Section 60(5) of Local Government Municipal Structures Act 117 of 1998, as amended requires that: ‘If the executive mayor vacates office, the mayoral committee appointed by that executive mayor dissolves’,” the city said in a statement on Tuesday.

An extraordinary council meeting has since been scheduled for next week on Tuesday.

Amad’s decision to vacate his office comes a day before he was expected to face a motion of no confidence, which was filed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) and ActionSA.

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The city was also scheduled to debate and vote on Joburg speaker Colleen Makhubele’s removal from her position.

While the DA is seeking to get rid of council whip and African National Congress (ANC) councillor Sithembiso Zungu, the party has accepted Amad’s resignation.

“By supporting Amad as mayor; the ANC, EFF [Economic Freedom Fighters] and PA [Patriotic Alliance] sabotaged service delivery and placed their personal interests above the interest of Johannesburg residents.

“They suspended investigations into corruption, that had been initiated under the DA multiparty coalition, and re-instated officials accused of corruption,” DA Gauteng chairperson Fred Nel’s statement reads.

Nel also confirmed the DA will nominate former Joburg mayor Mpho Phalatse as their candidate for next week’s vote.

‘A step in the right direction’

Reacting to the news, ActionSA said in a statement that the party hopes that Amad’s resignation would open the door for a stable coalition that can oust the ANC and EFF in the City of Joburg.

“Mayor Thapelo Amad ran away at night to avoid imminent removal by a successful motion of no confidence, saving embarrassment for the ANC-EFF coalition.

“His resignation is due to the direct and ongoing pressure from ActionSA. He did not resign voluntarily as mentioned in his resignation address,” ActionSA Gauteng chairperson Funzi Ngobeni said.

Furthermore, GOOD party said Amad’s resignation was “a step in the right direction to get the city back on track”.

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“As exciting as the idea was of having a young mayor, Amad did not have the skills and experience to lead what is arguably the most important city on the continent,” GOOD councillor Lloyd Philips said in a statement.

“Johannesburg sits at the heart of South Africa’s economy and it requires a mayor who understands the complexities of running a city that is fast becoming a metropolis. It has a unique role to play in the country and needs to lead by showing stable, progressive leadership.

“Unfortunately, this is not what residents got in this mayor, and therefore the city must change direction and move forward with someone who is able to operate at the required level.”

Coalition

On Monday, ActionSA, Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) urged the DA to reconsider joining forces in order to govern in Johannesburg.

With no coalition in the city, the political parties called on the DA not pass up on an opportunity to remove the ANC and EFF leadership.

The move comes after DA leader John Steenhuisen informed its former coalition partners that the party would not participate in any coalition that included the PA.

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