'Do the right thing': ActionSA wants Gwamanda removed as MMC

ActionSA is calling for Joburg mayor Dada Morero to “do the right thing” and remove Kabelo Gwamanda as community development MMC after he was arrested in connection with an alleged funeral policy scam he ran through his company, iThemba Lama Africa, by selling policies to Soweto residents in 2011.

Gwamanda was arrested after a victim opened a case against him in January, claiming they could not find the company offices to claim their payouts.

“We are asking Gwamanda to step aside, and we are also imploring the mayor of Johannesburg, Dada Morero, to do the right thing. He is the only one who appoints the MMC, and in this case he is also the only one who can remove an MMC,” ActionSA Joburg regional chairperson Nobuhle Mthembu said in an interview with Newzroom Afrika.

“We cannot have public representatives who are [allegedly] going out there scamming the same residents who voted for them to represent them in council.”

Mthembu said the party has been raising concerns about the allegations since Gwamanda was appointed Joburg mayor in May 2023. He resigned from the position in August this year.

“When the allegations were brought to our attention, we said people with allegations must open a criminal case, and the law must take its course.”

The party has written to the head of the legislature to refer Gwamanda to the ethics committee.

“Let the ethics committee run an investigation and see from everything they gather if he's guilty. At the same time the criminal justice system will be investigating to see if he's guilty,” Mthembu said.

The DA also said they warned the ANC about the allegations.

“Despite the warnings, the ANC chose to support him as the mayor of Johannesburg, dismissing the concerns as 'gossip.' His arrest exposes the reckless disregard the ANC, along with its coalition partners Al Jama-ah and the EFF, have shown toward the people of Johannesburg by allowing [an allegedly] compromised individual to hold the city's highest office and as MMC for community development,” said DA caucus leader in Joburg Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku.

She said the DA would write to Morero to request an investigation into all agreements entered into under Gwamanda's tenure as mayor and as MMC due to the allegations.

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