Johannesburg – Al Jama-ah on Tuesday asked the Speaker of the City of Joburg to probe allegations that the new Joburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda was involved in a dodgy investment scheme.
Gwamanda – a member of the minority party Al Jama-ah – was elected Joburg mayor on Friday, (5 May 2023), with the backing of the African National Congress (ANC) and the Economic Freedom Fighters.
Soon afterward, an audio recording surfaced alleging that Gwamanda had been part of an investment/funeral scam that fleeced gullible members.
Former Joburg mayor, Dr. Mpho Phalatse, has since called for Mayor Gwamanda to come clean on the matter.
She also said her Democratic Alliance party would take the matter to the police.
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Al Jama-ah insists that Gwamanda was vetted internally and by the ANC and there were no adverse findings.
Although Gwamanda has not made any public comment on the matter, Al Jama-ah caucus leader in the City of Joburg, former mayor Thapelo Amad, has written to Speaker Colleen Makubela requesting that an investigation into the matter be conducted by the Ethics Committee.
Councillor Amad resigned as mayor of Joburg on the eve of a no-confidence vote and he was subsequently replaced by Gwamanda.
In his letter to Speaker Makubela, Councillor Amad said, “I hereby request that an investigation be conducted” into “whether the allegations made against Cllr Gwamanda by Cllr Phalatse regarding his private business interests have substance and materiality to his status as a Councillor, and therefore as the Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg”.
Amad also wants a probe into, “Whether the staged public attacks of Cllr Phalatse on Cllr Gwamanda’s person and misrepresentation of his private affairs, has not violated his rights and brought the office he holds into serious disrepute, and whether in so doing, she did not contravene the provisions of Section 2 (a)(b) of the Code of Conduct for Councillors through her acts of political expediency and opportunism”.
He added: “The Speaker of Council is hereby requested to lodge an investigation into the above matters, and that during the period of this investigation, the Speaker must ensure that Cllr Gwamanda’s rights are protected.
“In the fullness of time, and when an investigation has been concluded through lawfully constituted processes, such as those of the Ethics Committee, we shall be in the know as to whether there is substance and materiality on the allegations that are being made against Cllr Gwamanda.”
