City of Joburg to have new exco by end of the week, says newly appointed mayor Geoff Makhubo
5 December 2019
The City of Johannesburg will have a new executive at the end of the week, according to newly elected Mayor Geoff Makhubo.
On Thursday, Makhubo told journalists at a media briefing he was ready to hit the ground running.
The ANC's councillors with the assistance of the IFP and smaller parties - including the PAC, AIC and Al-Jamah - won control of the City on Wednesday after losing it to a DA-led coalition in 2016's local government elections.
Makhubo confirmed the ANC would enter into a formal coalition with the smaller parties who helped it regain control of Johannesburg.
"Yes, we [are] going into a formal coalition with the parties. Now, we are negotiating who will lead what. It will be an all-encompassing government," he said.
The newly elected mayor added the ANC was also reaching out to the DA and EFF because he wanted to build a united city.
Makhubo added a new executive would be announced by the weekend.
"In the last three years, we have endured divisiveness and a highly toxic political and administrative environment."
He claimed the City's finances were on the verge of collapse and suburbs have been turned into dumping sites due to delayed garbage collection, land invasions were on the rise and crime was increasing in the city centre.
This despite former mayor Herman Mashaba claiming he had left the City in a good state, with three independent organisations praising it for being financially sound.
Makhubo said the ANC was committed to fighting corruption.
"The current modus operandi in the City is not to follow transparent tender processes, but to use regulation 32 to award contracts, in most instances to companies that lack the requisite competencies.
"We are not saying some of the issues in Johannesburg are not legacy issues.
"If you look at shacks going to the south, look at what's happening in Ward 109… [If you look at] what's happening in Ivory Park, surely you can acknowledge that by-law enforcement, building control has collapsed," he continued.
Makhubo said a budget needed to be passed in February, adding councillors would be working together to make sure it would go through.
Issues around service providers not being paid on time and the state of entities such as Joburg Water and City Power would be discussed once he had met with the city manager after Thursday's council sitting, he said.
Makhubo was elected mayor when voting finally got underway on Wednesday, almost a week after the first sitting to hold an election was postponed to seek clarity on what majority would be needed to secure a victory.
He was up against the DA's Funzela Ngobeni and EFF's Musa Novela.
Makhubo secured more than the 50% plus one majority needed when 137 councillors cast their ballots in his favour. Ngobeni received 101 votes, while Novela received 30.
Makhubo was only announced as the ANC's candidate hours before the first sitting last week.
He is a controversial figure who has been linked to Regiments Capital, a company entwined in state capture allegations.
In a statement released on Thursday morning, Mashaba, said: "Instead of having a mayor who fights corruption, Johannesburg will now have a mayor who is allegedly corrupt."
