Actions by Johannesburg MMC Mbundu prove he should not be in public office

3 August 2022

It’s time for Johannesburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse to remove the MMC for economic development, Nkululeko Mbundu, who has once again proven that he has no place in public office with outrageous and irresponsible comments on Twitter. 

In a series of tweets last week, Mbundu decided to call out the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI) for helping informal traders in the city following a court order against their illegal removal. The inflammatory statements by the MMC incited threats of violence against SERI, its staff and informal traders in the city.

The Mayor has since distanced herself and the metro from the comments and condemned the serious of tweets. Yet, ActionSA maintains that the tweets from their councilor were merely aimed at communicating the City’s position on the matter, with no intention to cause harm. 

We note that the City has indicated that an investigation has been launched to look into the operation in light of the Constitutional Court order.

Any form of hate speech or inflammatory comments that have the potential to incite violence in the form of xenophobia or racism should not be tolerated, and should not be taken lightly. 

It is further important to note that this is the same MMC that is under investigation for allegedly breaching the Municipal Finance Management Act linked to the Johannesburg Property Company (JPC). Despite this, he has remained in office during this process, and has now once again proved that he should not be in this position. 

As GOOD, we condemn these outrageous tweets and believe the MMC should be replaced in the multi-party coalition. 

Issued by Lloyd Phillips, City of Johannesburg Councillor, GOOD, 3 August 2022