The newly elected mayor of Johannesburg, Thapelo Amad of Al Jama-ah, will be sworn in on Monday, and will likely announce the new mayoral committee members.
Thapelo Amad in service delivery
Amad, who is also the Chairman of the Johannesburg Section 79 Oversight Portfolio Committee on governance, promised to prioritize services.
Talk to friendship there, Amad said the City of Joburg is dilapidated and needs a lot of work.
“Moving forward, we will use our human resources to keep the city and officials clean and services available to citizens.”
Watch: The new mayor’s vision for Joburg
Amad was elected mayor on Friday after Democratic Alliance (DA) Mpho Phalatse was removed in a motion of no confidence.
Amad and ActionSA Funzi Ngobeni were nominated for the position of mayor during the previous council meeting.
Amad was elected mayor with 138 votes, while Ngobeni got 46 votes and Phalatse got 81.
Not a sock puppet
Amad responded to critics who said he could be a pawn of the ANC or the EFF: “I’m not sure who said this, but I believe it’s a collective effort.”
“The effort is not only from the government, we will still consult with the DA, other stakeholders, frontline workers, and citizens.
“We represent the masses and that is the agenda we will push,” he said.
Also read: I don’t care who runs Joburg – just stop bothering me when the city is rotten!
Attitude of the Patriotic Alliance
Meanwhile, Patriotic Alliance President Gayton McKenzie said Phalatse’s removal would help improve Johannesburg’s financial situation.
According to PA’s Kenny Kunene, Amad “will not work independently of other coalition partners”.
The coalition will meet on Tuesday to discuss service delivery and other issues. “They will be guided by their coalition partners on what to do,” Kunene said.
Also read: Mpho Phalatse’s removal was engineered by the Patriotic Alliance
Compiled by Cheryl Kahla