DA tells Joburg mayor Gwamanda is 'out of touch, has no plan' for the city

The DA in Johannesburg has slammed the state of the city address by mayor Kabelo Gwamanda on Tuesday, saying it revealed he had no plan for the country's economic hub.

The party lamented it had to sit through the mayor reading a speech that was “clearly not written by himself”.

DA Joburg caucus leader Belinda Echeozonjoku said it showed that Gwamanda is out of touch with what was happening in the city he leads.

“To say the mayor was vague is an understatement. The executive mayor is talking about a people’s plan — which people’s plan, when he did not even apologise to the residents of Johannesburg for his no-show at IDP [individual development plan] sessions which would have also informed his state of the city address?” she said.

Echeozonjoku told the mayor he had no plan, was not in touch with the true state of the city and did not care about the rate payers, who pay huge rates but get ignored and yet assisted in upgrading underdeveloped areas.

“We are a city in mourning today. Cry our beloved city, which once was on its way to being restored to a city of golden opportunities, but now has become a city of filth, doom and gloom under the GLU,” she said. The GLU is the ANC/EFF-led government of local unity that put Gwamanda in charge of the city.

Echeozonjoku thanked the speaker, Colleen Makhubele, for publicising the mayor and his MMC's failure to attend IDP sessions, showing a disregard for residents, and agreed that it was unacceptable.

“What is also alarming is that the executive mayor had an opportunity to apologise to residents of Johannesburg during his address yesterday and he failed to do so.

“It is clear that the executive mayor has no plan, just a long wish list funded by the ratepayers, and is being controlled from behind the scenes,” she said.

Echeozonjoku challenged the mayor to acknowledge that the plans in motion were initiated under the DA-led multiparty government and said he is offering nothing new, as expected when absorbed by the ANC.

“He started by saying that the government of local unity started on a rebasing exercise. If he was on top of things, he would have known that the rebasing exercise was started by the DA-led multiparty government to work on a more realistic budget,” she said.

She said the mayor did not address health and social development, citing that under the GLU, the homeless and vulnerable were on their own going into winter.

“There is a shortage of shelters across the city, yet he made no mention of shelters to accommodate families and LGBTQA+ community. In public safety, we are not safe in the city, the absence of bylaw enforcement and the slow responses to land invasions will and has cost the city dearly,” she said.

Echeozonjoku questioned why the coalition was hell-bent on adding an advisory committee for the youth when the city has a youth directorate which can be utilised to address issues affecting them.

“Are there ANC cadres or Al Jama-ah cadres that stand to benefit from these advisory committees with payment? What exactly will they be advising the directorate on? They already exist,” she said.

Investor confidence in the city was at an all-time low, she added, citing that people are leaving in droves to DA-run municipalities because the administration could not get the basics right because of internal politics.

“The executive mayor can be assured that the DA will not stand by and allow him to fool the residents. We will hold this government accountable and ensure that our residents get the services they deserve.”

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