ANOTHER JOBURG MAYOR GONE

The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality (CoJ) has once again lost its Mayor.

Thapelo Amad resigned from his position on Monday, 24 April 2023, just a day before a motion of no confidence was scheduled against him.

*Joburg Mayor, Thapelo Amad in Kaalfontein*

This comes after Amad was elected as mayor in January, with the assistance of the African National Congress (ANC) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) partnership, with the help of the Patriotic Alliance.

At a press briefing on Monday, ANC Gauteng Provincial Chairperson and Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi, commended Amad’s selfless leadership during his term.

*Thapelo Amad, Panyaza Lesufi and Patriotic Alliance’s Gayton McKenzie.*

Lesufi also stated that the combined coalition, which includes the ANC, EFF, Patriotic Alliance, and a group of smaller political parties that led Joburg, would decide on a candidate to replace Amad.

Amad’s resignation was not due to fear of being ousted through a no-confidence motion, he said, noting that it was part of a process to stabilize the City of Johannesburg.

However, Amad’s resignation has left a vacancy in the City’s mayoral seat, which has been a revolving door in the past three years. The Mayorship in COJ has been musical chairs with 5 Mayors in 3 years.

Geoffrey Makhubo was the Mayor from 2019 until his death from COVID-19 in July 2021.
Jolidee Matongo then took over as mayor of Johannesburg from 10 August 2021 until his death on 18 September 2021.
Mpho Moerane was the mayor of Johannesburg between October and November 2021 but succumbed to injuries sustained in a car accident a week earlier.
Mpho Phalatse was removed through a motion of no confidence

Amad, who comes from the small party Al Jama-ah, is one of two (2) Al Jama-ah councillors in the city. During his short time in office, Amad was busy with service delivery activities, visiting various areas in the city, including Ivory Park North Hall, Ivory Park Swimming Pool, Kaalfontein Gravel Roads, and Kaalfontein Multipurpose Centre.

When a Mayor resigns, the Municipal Structures Act says that

Local Government Municipal Structures Act 117 of 1998, as amended requires that:

” If the executive mayor vacates office. the mayoral committee appointed by that executive mayor dissolves.”

In Johannesburg, the ANC, EFF and other smaller political parties led the coalition that appointed the previous Mayor, Thapelo Amad.

The coalition will now need to decide on a new candidate to replace him as the Mayor.

If a new Mayor is elected, they may choose to keep some or all of the existing MMCs, or they may choose to appoint new MMCs. If the coalition fails to agree on a new Mayor, the council may be dissolved, and fresh elections may be called.

It remains to be seen who will take over the reins in the City of Johannesburg, but one thing is for sure, the residents of Johannesburg are growing tired of the instability in their city.

The revolving door of mayors needs to stop, and whoever takes over needs to bring stability, good governance, and service delivery to the City.

There will an extra-ordinary Council Meeting on Tuesday 2 May 2023 to elect the Executive Mayor as announced by the Speaker of Council, Cllr Colleenn Makhubela,