Johannesburg – The Mayor of Johannesburg Kabelo Gwamanda on Friday announced that he has cancelled his scheduled trip to the Russia-Africa Summit taking place in St Petersburg, Russia, to deal with the aftermath of the explosion along Bree Street.
Mayor Gwamanda said the cancellation has been necessitated by the ongoing work to respond and recover services following the gas explosion that occurred on Bree Street last week Wednesday.
He said having considered the priorities of the City and he has decided to recuse himself from the Summit.
The Russia-Africa Summit is a critical engagement and as a city, we were humbled to be invited to participate and to showcase our City as a leading and vibrant centre of investment and development on the continent, said Mayor Gwamanda.
The invitation was evidence of the significance of Johannesburg to the continent and the global economy and wouldve presented an opportunity for the City to once more take its rightful place in global socio-economic and political discourse.”
Mayor Gwamanda was meant to depart with a high-powered delegation to Russia to strengthen city-to-city relations that would be a foundation for foreign investment.
The City of Johannesburg remains an attractive investment destination, ready for investment and collaborations to enhance the Citys development and economic growth.
On Friday Mayor Gwamanda convened a series of meetings with the Joint Operations Committee (JOC) and the Technical team with regards to the progress made thus far and will continue having more of these briefs and site assessments regularly.
“This was an unscheduled occurrence and must therefore be treated with the urgency it deserves, life as we know it is at stake, and the sooner we get to the root cause and find permanent solutions, the sooner the lives of our people can go back to normal along with the hustle and bustle of the CBD as we know it,” said Mayor Gwamanda.
