The newly-elected City of Johannesburg Mayor, Kabelo Gwamanda, says his administration is prepared to work with all parties represented in council to ensure that the needs of residents are put first.
He defeated the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Mpho Phalatse and ActionSA’s Funzi Ngobeni during Friday’s council meeting.
Gwamanda made this announcement after he was sworn-in as the new mayor.
The city has been without a mayor for over a week, following the resignation of former mayor, Thapelo Amad, who is also from Al-Jama-ah. He resigned a day before a motion of no confidence was to be tabled against him.
He says, “Our interest is for the city to succeed. We are prepared to work with all political parties represented in council, to ensure that all diverse citizens in the city are serviced. I would also like to take this opportunity to announce the continuation of this government of local unity in the form in which it operated.”
Gwamanda, says service delivery improvements will be his top priority.
He says, “Our approach as government needs to be respectful to the residents and be resident centred. We as a government have to provide services that are at least worth paying for, rather than demand payment because it is legislated. It is therefore a fundamental imperative for this administration to adopt a qualitative approach in attempt to trigger the pulse of the City of Johannesburg post the monumental calamity caused by the previous regime.”
VIDEO: Newly elected City of Johannesburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda’s acceptance speech:
The DA in Johannesburg says they are disappointed over the breakdown of their former multi-party coalition, which saw the election of Al-Jama-ah councillor, Kabelo Gwamanda, as Joburg’s new mayor.
DA Gauteng Caucus leader, Fred Nel says, “Well, we tried our best to get an agreement with our former coalition partners in Johannesburg, but unfortunately we weren’t able to get to that point. The ideal situation would have been united behind Dr. Mpho Phalatse as the mayor or as a candidate for mayor as we believe that she would have been the ideal candidate to bring back stability for Joburg.”
