ActionSA wants Kabelo Gwamanda, the mayor of the City of Johannesburg, removed from office.
The party’s chairperson in Gauteng and ActionSA caucus leader Funzi Ngobeni on Wednesday filed a motion of no confidence to get Al Jam-ah’s Gwamanda ousted.
It is understood that engagements were made with other political parties and ActionSA decided to activate a move to dethrone Gwamanda.
On Monday, ActionSA called on the mayor to use his state of the city address on Tuesday to clear the air on “serious allegations of criminal wrongdoing”.
“It is evident from his state of the city address yesterday [Tuesday] that Gwamanda did not take this demand seriously, and this is why ActionSA has filed a motion of no confidence to remove him from office,” said Ngobeni.
“This follows from a Carte Blanche exposé, which revealed that Gwamanda is alleged to have defrauded vulnerable people through a funeral scheme, as well as serious questions about his claims of academic qualifications.
“Since the exposé by Carte Blanche, Gwamanda has not taken the council or the residents of Johannesburg into his confidence to provide any assurance about these serious allegations of wrongdoing.”
Ngobeni added that the allegations have been treated as an internal matter, noting that coalition partners have helped shield the mayor from engagements with the media.
He said: “ActionSA, along with the IFP, FF Plus, ACDP and UIM have engaged the DA with the purpose of securing a discussion with the DA in respect of collaborating in this motion of no confidence.
“ActionSA reached out to the DA on 15 May 2023 seeking a meeting about all parties discussing the need for a motion of no confidence in the wake of the Carte Blanche allegations.
“Johannesburg deserves better than a mayor from a two-seat party that cannot be trusted by his own coalition partners to answer simple and direct questions about the allegations he faces.
“It demonstrates how his leadership of the City of Johannesburg is nothing more than a charade while the ANC and EFF implement their real agenda with the benefit of being able to deny that they were in charge.”
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