Kabelo Gwamanda the mayor of Johannesburg, South Africa’s biggest metro city resigned on August 13 after the ruling ANC reached a coalition agreement with ActionSA.
Following South Africa’s 2016 municipal elections, the ANC was unable to secure an outright majority in Johannesburg, forcing the party into an unstable coalition that has led to nine successive mayors.
Al Jama-ah councilor Gwamanda became Johannesburg’s mayor in May 2023 as a compromise candidate between the ANC and the Julius Malema-led EFF.
Gwamanda’s resignation is a result of a new coalition between the ANC and the Herman Mashaba ActionSA in Gauteng that will also see changes in Ekurhuleni.
Press statement by Kabelo Gwamanda on his resignation as Johannesburg mayor
The Executive Mayor of Johannesburg, Cllr Kabelo Gwamanda, has today submitted his resignation to the Speaker of the Johannesburg Metropolitan Council.
This is in line with the political engagements that have taken place over the past weeks and which have been largely informed by the new political architecture of governance in the country following the 29 May 2024 National and Provinical Elections.
“As the youngest Mayor of Johannesburg I am humbled by the opportunity to have led this City and to have stabilized it financially and administratively following the collapse of the Multi-Party coalition government.”
“I am pleased that we managed to place good governance on course and that we achieved the best audit outcomes witnessed by the City in years.”
“I shall continue to serve the people of Johannesburg as a Councilor and will forever cherish the experience afforded to me in my tenure as the Executive Mayor. My story is one I am hopeful will continue to inspire many an African child from our City that against deprivation, isolation, social and political exclusion and with the absence of friends and peers in the Corporate and Media hierarchy, one can live and rise on the noble cause of changing the conditions of the poor” said Mayor Gwamanda
The resignation will be effective from a date to be determined by the Speaker, wherein a new Executive Mayor will be elected by the Council. END.
For Enquiries
Mlimandlela Ndamase Private Office of the Executive Mayor 083 480 0014
ActionSA press statement on Gwamanda’s resignation
ActionSA welcomes the resignation of Cllr. Kabelo Gwamanda as Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, following a tenure of just over a year that can only be characterised by failure and catastrophic incompetence, with the evidence of the City’s downward spiral evident across Johannesburg.
ActionSA is pleased that our intervention has occasioned Gwamanda’s resignation, which we pushed for with urgency, as we could not stand by and allow the City to fall further into disrepair.
Residents of the City of Johannesburg have suffered under a Mayor whose ineptitude and habitual blame-shifting, never self-included despite his unambiguous executive responsibility, have led to a disastrous state of service delivery across the City.
ActionSA argued from the day of his election that Cllr. Gwamanda, who replaced another disastrous Mayor from Al Jama-ah, was simply not fit for the role and would certainly be unable to meet the demands of the job. One year later, we are regrettably reminded of how accurate our warnings have proven to be.
In the best interest of residents, ActionSA, being the third-largest party in Johannesburg, transparently embarked on an effort to stabilise governance in the City, with our efforts thus far having yielded some relief, with the City now rid of the calamitous mayorship of Cllr. Gwamanda and set commitments to reverse the R200 surcharge heartlessly imposed by City Power on prepaid users.
At the heart of our fight for the residents, was to ensure the turnaround in key frontline service delivery matters including infrastructure renewal and the rejuvenation of the Inner City.
Importantly, while the resignation of Cllr. Gwamanda is a welcome first step, rebuilding Johannesburg will necessitate a sustained effort driven by decisive action, a clear plan, and unwavering political will, all of which ActionSA will ensure anchors our every effort as we continue to fight on behalf of the over 6 million residents of our great City.
ActionSA looks forward to the election of a new Mayor, which we are confident will be an improvement on the objectively disastrous tenure of Cllr Gwamanda.
ActionSA will provide continuous updates on developments arising from our efforts to get Johannesburg back on track towards good governance, growth, and prosperity.
Johannesburg City Council seat allocation
| Political party | Seats |
| ANC | 91 |
| DA | 71 |
| ActionSA | 44 |
| EFF | 29 |
| PA | 8 |
| IFP | 7 |
| VFF+ | 4 |
| ACDP | 3 |
| Ajama | 3 |
| AIC | 2 |
| AHC | 1 |
| APC | 1 |
| ATM | 1 |
| COPE | 1 |
| GOOD | 1 |
| PAC | 1 |
| UDM | 1 |
| UIM | 1 |
| Total | 270 |
