Former Johannesburg mayor and more recently MMC Kabelo Gwamanda. (Photo by Gallo Images/Fani Mahuntsi)
The political management council (PMC) in Johannesburg is expected to meet on Tuesday to discuss who should replace embattled former mayor and now community development MMC Kabelo Gwamanda after he was put on special leave last week.
Gwamanda appeared in the Protea magistrate’s court and was granted bail after he was arrested last week Friday in connection with an alleged funeral policy scam that he ran in Soweto between 2011 and 2012.
The PMC comprises all regional leaders of the parties in the ANC-led coalition in the Johannesburg council.
The Mail & Guardian understands that the former MMC in the same portfolio, the African Transformation Movement’s Lubabalo Magwentshu, and another former mayor, Al Jamah-ah’s Thapelo Amad, are expected to be the front runners for the position.
Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero said in a statement on Tuesday that he had decided to put Gwamanda on special leave and will appoint an acting MMC for community development during Gwamanda’s special leave.
“The severity of these allegations demands a proactive response to protect the integrity of the office of the executive mayor,” said Morero.
“In line with the city’s commitment to integrity, good governance and accountability, I have decided to place MMC Gwamanda on special leave, effective immediately, and relieve him of all his executive duties.”
Gwamanda is alleged to have conned unsuspecting Soweto residents in a scheme to which they made monthly payments for funeral insurance but were not paid out their claims.
A Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) investigation last year found that he operated the business in 2012 and then disappeared when his clients sought their money.
The alleged scam was first raised by the then Democratic Alliance mayor, Mpho Phalatse.
On Monday the ANC contemplated invoking its step-aside rule for Gwamanda but this proved difficult because he is an Al Jamah-ah member.
The ANC’s step-aside rule compels party members who have been criminally charged to relinquish their party positions pending their acquittal.
On Monday evening, Moreoro said that as a deployee of the ANC in political office, they were guided by the party’s position on similar matters and expected the same from their partners in government.
“We can confirm that the situation meets the minimum requirements for the step-aside rule to kick in,” said Morero.
A member of a minority party in the coalition said although the step-aside rule did not apply to Gwamanda, “there was no way Dada would have not removed him”.
“His head had gone big and he was aligning more with the people who had issues with Dada. When you read the mayor’s statement, you can see that the gloves are off.”
The member said the argument was now over agreeing on who should replace Gwamanda. Al Jamah-ah was likely to push for its councillor to replace him.
This would not be the first time Al Jamah-ah would force its coalition partners in Johannesburg to replace their candidate with one of its councillors.
In 2023, the party threatened to leave the coalition if the other coalition partners did not vote for Gwamanda to take over from Thapelo Amad.
The coalition was forced to agree to the terms as they feared that Al Jamah-ah pulling back would mean they did not have enough numbers in council to keep the Democratic Alliance and ActionSA out of power.
With the arrangement the ANC and ActionSA now have in Gauteng, it is unlikely that Al Jamah-ah would be able to force the ANC into a corner over its preferred candidate.
“The step-aside rule does not apply to Al Jama-ah. However, it’s the mayor’s prerogative to remove him. He might argue that Al Jamah-ah has three councillors and with the relationship between the ANC and Al Jamah-ah maybe Gwamanda should be replaced by a person from the same party,” said the minority party member.
An ANC regional executive committee member said if Gwamanda resigned, the minority parties that formed part of the Johannesburg council coalition would demand the position because of their arrangements in the city.
There was a “high possibility” that the post would go to Magwentshu because Amad had a chequered history and the party’s third councillor was only sworn in at the most recent council meeting.
“There’s no way you can just appoint a councillor who has just been sworn in our last council,” the regional executive committee member said, adding it would also be difficult to place Gwamanda on step-aside as he was not an ANC member.
“His party must tell him to resign and I think the chair [Morero] is going to advise him to resign.”