South Africa’s richest city in chaos

Johannesburg councillor Martin Williams warned that the reckless spending and corruption in the city will not stop because of a partnership between the ANC and ActionSA.

His comments followed the resignation of Johannesburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda, who resigned after serving a year and four months.

Gwamanda was the ninth mayor of South Africa’s richest city since the 2016 local government election and the fifth since 2021.

His resignation follows mounting pressure from those within his coalition, opposition parties, and civil society.

The City of Johannesburg has been collapsing due to deteriorating infrastructure, which has caused water and electricity outages, traffic jams, and security problems.

The Johannesburg Crisis Alliance (JCA) has raised the alarm that Africa’s richest city is facing a deepening struggle for survival.

The JCA argued that the city’s dysfunction is rooted in unstable coalitions and neglected maintenance of core infrastructure.

It believes that the executive mayor and his mayoral committee must be held accountable for these and other critical service delivery lapses.

In response, Action SA leader Herman Mashaba said a major announcement about changes in the coalition arrangement in the City of Johannesburg will be made soon.

Many hoped that an alliance between the ANC and ActionSA would help resolve the city’s deep-rooted problems.

However, Williams told Biznews that the alliance would not stop the reckless spending, waste, and corruption in Johannesburg.

He argued that any party getting into bed with the ANC in Johannesburg, which is divided and corrupt, will end up in an unstable relationship.

He added that the ANC does not need ActionSA to rule in Johannesburg if they get the EFF’s support.

“So, they could be playing off each other forever, at least until 2026 when the next election happens,” Williams told Biznews.

This has already started. ANC regional secretary Sasabona Manganye said the ANC could lead Johannesburg without ActionSA’s help.

Another concern Williams raised was the ‘Alex Mafia’ influence in the City of Johannesburg and the ANC.

“Their grip is very strong. Most of the seven members of the provincial council named by Paul Mashatile and Panyaza Lesufi could be linked to the Alex Mafia,” he said.

Dada Morero nominated as the new Johannesburg

The ANC welcomed Gwamanda’s resignation and nominated Dada Morero as the new Johannesburg mayor.

Action SA said it would support Morero as the new mayor. “We will work with him to fix the problems in Johannesburg,” the party said.

Williams warned Johannesburg residents not to expect a miracle and the decay to be fixed. “It’ll probably get worse,” he said.

“The reckless spending and corruption are not going to stop under Dada Marero, the EFF, Action SA, and that crew.”

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse CEO Wayne Duvenage welcomed Gwamanda’s resignation but rejected Morero’s nomination.

Duvenage said they don’t have a preferred mayoral candidate. However, he argued that Morero was a bad choice and part of the problem which caused chaos in the city.

“Dada Morero is part of the problem. He has been the MEC for finance in Johannesburg and has been inside the organisation for some time,” he said.

He said Morero did not help to stop the city’s waste of money or increase accountability in the various departments.

“There is gross maladministration in Johannesburg’s water department and City Power. Nobody is holding anyone to account,” he said.

“This is what the MEC of finance, alongside the mayor and the city’s management, should be doing.”

“As far as we are concerned, Dada Morero is part of the institution that has not performed well over the last year. He is not the right candidate to take the city forward.”