Joburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda to resign in August, says ANC

City of Johannesburg executive mayor Kabelo Gwamanda is set to resign from his influential position by August — according to the ANC — marking the 10th time political power has changed hands in the metro since 2016.

The move follows ongoing talks by the ANC with ActionSA and Al Jama-ah, which Gwamanda belongs to, according to ANC Johannesburg regional secretary Sasabona Manganye.

Calls for Gwamanda to step down had been increasing with opposition councillors arguing he is not suitably qualified to lead the country’s economic hub, which contributes almost 20% to national GDP and about 40% to Gauteng’s economy. 

His election in June 2023 marked the sixth time political power had changed hands in the metro since 2021. Twelve days into his tenure as mayor last year, labour federation Cosatu called on Gwamanda to step down and be replaced by a “capable mayor” as a matter of urgency with a “collective vision of advancing the city”. 

Gwamanda's imminent departure comes after the introduction of a bill for public comment in May by Thembi Nkadimeng, the former co-operative governance and traditional affairs minister, which seeks to rein in local government instability by making it difficult to remove executive mayors, speakers and chief whips. 

Gwamanda, from the Al Jama-ah party — which holds three seats in the 270-seat council — is the ninth mayor of Joburg since the 2016 local government election. The past mayors of the metro include Parks Tau (2016), Herman Mashaba (2016-19), Geoff Makhubo (2020-21), Mpho Moerane (2021), Jolidee Matongo (2021), Mpho Phalatse (2021-22), Dada Morero (2022) and Thapelo Amad (2023).

ActionSA has previously cast Gwamanda’s leadership of the metro as a “charade”, saying the leadership instability affected services to the city’s six-million residents.

On Monday, Manganye said: “There is no intention to remove Gwamanda through a vote of no confidence. He will resign as mayor [in about] August. We are still in discussions with his party.”

ActionSA national chair Michael Beaumont said the party had placed three conditions on its conditional support of a new government in Joburg: the removal of Gwamanda; immediate reversal of the R200 surcharge imposed by City Power on prepaid electricity users; and that ActionSA would produce a “series of motions” aimed at turning around Joburg in service delivery matters including “infrastructure renewal and rejuvenation of the inner city”. 

The senate deliberated on the “dire state” of the Joburg and Ekurhuleni metros: “At the heart of the declining condition of these municipalities is the instability that has persisted in these coalitions as coalition partners, especially in Johannesburg, seek to condition their support for matters of governance based on extraneous issues to Johannesburg or its residents.” 

Beaumont said Gwamanda’s tenure had been an “unmitigated failure with the evidence of the downward spiral of Johannesburg evident all around the city”. 

ActionSA, which holds 44 seats in the 270-seat Joburg council, had contemplated the fact it held a significant number of seats in the metro, and “we have come to the conclusion that the party cannot sit on its hands anymore as the city continues its downward spiral to the detriment of Joburg residents”. 

“It is for this reason that ActionSA will adopt the role of the constructive opposition, as we have done in parliament in relation to the grand coalition and will make our support available to any government in Johannesburg on an issue-by-issue basis,” he said. 

“To facilitate this constructive opposition role ActionSA will take up a number of positions in the legislature so that we have the platform to hold any new government to account.” 

ActionSA has previously said it would not work with the ANC, but Beaumont explained the arrangement with the ANC was not a coalition agreement. 

“ActionSA will not enter the executive to co-govern; no coalition agreement will be signed and ActionSA’s support, even for a new mayor, will be provided only on the consideration of the merits of the matter.” 

He said part of the agreement reached was that the ANC would facilitate the resignation of the Tshwane council speaker and ATM councillor Mncedi Ndzwanana. 

“[That would be] reversing the injustice that was perpetrated in this city with the vote buying that previously transpired. This will pave the way for the current governing coalition to hold this seat as it intended with an ActionSA representative that will bring stability to this vital role and enhance our ability to improve service delivery,” Beaumont said. 

Al Jama-ah president and social development deputy minister, Ganief Hendricks, could not immediately be reached for comment.

mkentanel@businesslive.co.za