Tshwane can’t afford an insolvent ANC-EFF puppet mayor

6 March 2023

Tshwane’s new ANC-EFF puppet mayor, Dr Murunwa Makwarela, must come clean on his insolvency status before he makes any decisions of consequence, including the appointment of a mayoral committee.

Makwarela is the sole councillor of the Congress of the People (COPE), a small party who has now been co-opted by the ANC and the EFF to serve as a cover for their effective coalition.

Last week the Democratic Alliance (DA) was informed by a member of the public that Makwarela had been sequestrated in the Gauteng High Court in 2016.

Although insolvency is itself not a scandal, an unrehabilitated insolvent is barred by the Constitution from holding public office.

Such a person is also not permitted to serve in any other role that requires fiduciary responsibilities, such as a trustee or a director of a company.

This provision exists for good reason: how can we entrust the governance of a city or any other corporate entity to a person who has no control of his own financial affairs?

We immediately wrote to the city manager of Tshwane to ask that he establish: whether Makwarela had obtained a rehabilitation order (automatic rehabilitation only happens after ten years); and

whether this rehabilitation order had been obtained prior to Makwarela’s election as a councillor on 1 November 2021.

We are also writing to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to ask that they conduct their own investigation into the matter.

It is important to note that Makwarela would’ve been required to complete an IEC Annexure 4 return prior to his election as a councillor.

This form includes a declaration that the candidate is ‘not disqualified for standing for elections in terms of the Constitution or any applicable legislation’.

The residents of Tshwane are tired of the political games played by the ANC and the EFF to render the city ungovernable.

The last thing they now need is a mayor who cannot assume responsibilities for the office to which he has been elected, and so the DA calls on Makwarela to be honest with the public.

Issued by Jacqui Uys, DA Tshwane Ward Councillor, 6 March 2023