The DA has confirmed that a motion to dissolve the City of Johannesburg council will be tabled on November 17.
This after civil rights organisations – Ahmed Kathrada Foundation and Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse – called for action to rescue the city.
The DA said in October that the main reason it wants to dissolve the city council is because it is ineffective.
At the time, it argued that the city’s leadership including mayor Kabelo Gwamanda and his MMCs, were engaged in unnecessary ventures while neglecting service delivery.
“The city is being run through motions submitted in council in order to ensure service delivery,” said DA Johannesburg caucus leader Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku.
“Roads are collapsing, rules of council are not being adhered to and city-owned buildings are not maintained to the extent that they catch fire.
“Moreover, it is alleged that despite high rate increases imposed on residents, the city hasn’t paid Eskom in full.”
ANC accused of mismanagement
The DA also accused the ANC of mismanagement and poor governance, stating that council speaker Collen Makhubele, who had promised change, has failed.
“The puppet mayor and his MMCs are squabbling in public, roads are exploding, city-owned buildings are catching fire, and the city is deteriorating while they spend time and limited resources on unnecessary ventures such as the renaming of a street.
“The speaker of council, Colleen Makhubele’s promise that she will ‘bring the ANC back to Johannesburg’ has now truly come to fruition.
“The City of Johannesburg has been captured, and it happened at the hands of those who were supposed to be responsible for safeguarding it.”
Reiterating the significance of the dissolution, the party has urged the speaker to prioritise the motion for the sake of saving the city.
Kayser-Echeozonjoku contends that the city needs no meddling from the national government, but internal resolution.
She added: “We also call on all political parties that truly want to put the interest of Joburg residents first to support this motion.
“It is time to go back to the people for a fresh election to end the instability that has destroyed service delivery.
“The truth is that the Joburg council has the power to solve this crisis without national government intervention, by doing the right thing and voting in support of the DA’s motion to dissolve the council.
“Now is the time to rise above petty politics, go back to the voters for a fresh election, and rescue Joburg.”
