'We don't see any joy coming out Dada Morero's appointment as Johannesburg Mayor' – OUTA

Bongani Bingwa interviews Wayne Duvenage, CEO of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) and Sasabona Manganye, ANC Regional Secretary.

Listen below.

Kabelo Gwamanda has stepped down as mayor of Johannesburg, submitting his resignation to Speaker Margaret Arnold on Tuesday.

This decision comes after weeks of intense negotiations led by the African National Congress (ANC), signalling a potential return of the former liberation movement to the mayoral office.

Manganye says that the current coalition arrangement needed to be reevaluated to better align with the party holding the majority of seats in the council.

He explains that this was the primary reason behind Gwamanda's resignation, as it was necessary to implement this principle effectively.

"I think it's very unfair to attribute all the failures to the outgoing mayor, as many of these problems were inherited from the Democratic Alliance and the multi-party coalition that were in power before him."

- Sasabona Manganye, Regional Secretary – ANC 

The ANC’s Dada Morero is expected to succeed Gwamanda, with a vote anticipated at an extraordinary council meeting on Friday.

RELATED: ANC's Morero tipped for Joburg mayoral job

As Johannesburg faces another leadership transition, the question remains: what lies ahead for this constantly evolving city?

"Joburg is in a dire situation. It's crumbling by the day and the longer we wait to deal with the leadership, the bigger this hole gets."

- Wayne Duvenage, CEO – Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse

Duvenage expresses OUTA's concerns regarding the proposed appointment of Morero, suggesting that his tenure as the MEC of Finance on the mayoral committee has shown no promise of addressing Johannesburg's financial issues.

He notes that, instead of tackling the crisis directly, the administration has exacerbated the situation by opting for a R2.5 billion loan, worsening the city’s financial predicament.

"Imagine not doing the work that you should be doing to cut your cost, look at where the waste is, and demonstrate to the citizens how we save money in a situation like this..."

- Wayne Duvenage, CEO – Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse

Duvenage says that without visionary leadership to guide Johannesburg in the right direction and ensure accountability, the city will continue to deteriorate.

"We don't see any joy coming out of Dada Morero's appointment."

- Wayne Duvenage, CEO – Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.