Note to Editors: Please find an English soundbite by Cllr Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku here
Whilst the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Johannesburg welcomes the removal of fraud accused Cllr Kabelo Gwamanda as Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC), this does not close that chapter. We can only imagine the damage caused by this individual both during his time as MMC for Community Development and during his short stint as mayor.
The DA demanded that a full investigation be done into all agreements and Memorandums of Understandings (MOU) signed by Cllr Gwamanda during his time as Mayor and also as MMC for Community Development. We also demanded a full forensic investigation into the signatures received by Cllr Gwamanda and Executive Mayor Dada Morero regarding the renaming of Sandton Drive to Leila Khaled Drive. It is evident that they cannot be trusted.
We await the full report on this to be made public.
The appointment of Cllr Tebeho Nkoukou as the new MMC for Community Development is, however, unfortunate, and we reject this appointment. Cllr Nkoukou is known for his racist remarks in council, this in a country as diverse as ours.
We must caution him that a portfolio like Community Development boasts social cohesion as one of its mandates.
We shall be watching him closely and listening to every one of his utterances with keen interest. Our mandate is, and will continue to be to hold him accountable.
We urge MMC Nkoukou to ensure that the forensic audit into the signatures delivered to the mayor and former MMC in support of renaming Sandton Drive is done and the report be made public.
The DA will always ensure that residents interest come before the ANC-ActionsSA-EFF’s political manoeuvring.