Johannesburg - The ANC in Joburg has wished the mayor of Joburg, Kabelo Gwamanda, a speedy recovery after he fell sick last week during the proceedings of the State of the City Address (Soca) debate.
It was not clear when the mayor would be back at work, but The Star understands that he had been booked off for a few days.
Gwamanda was rushed to the hospital last Wednesday after suffering some kind of allergic reaction at a council meeting.
The DA in Joburg had expressed concern over the mayor’s health due to a number of activities that the mayor had missed because of being ill.
Following a regional lekgotla last week, the ANC in Joburg wished the mayor well: “The REC wishes the Executive Mayor, Cllr Gwamanda, a speedy recovery who took ill during the State of City Address debate on Thursday, June 7,” the region said.
Despite reports of disunity and difficulties in the ANC-led coalition in the City of Joburg, the region said it still had full confidence in the Government of Local Unity.
“As the ANC, we are confident about the work that the Government of Local Unity has undertaken over the past four months. We wish to assure the residents of Joburg that the city has made strides in bringing back the services that have been halted as a result of disruption experienced before the GLU took over the leadership reigns of the city,” the region said.
The ANC said despite most of the challenges in the City of Joburg being inherited from the previous government, the party would ensure that the GLU delivers services as expected.
“We, however, note that the GLU has no excuse when it comes to matters of good governance and service delivery, which Joburg residents are patiently waiting for. The REC has noted the steady progress that the ANC-led GLU government is making in turning the tide and arresting the collapse of the city. The stabilisation process has commenced in earnest, and all ANC MMCs together with the ANC COJ Caucus are expected to reconnect with the people on the ground,” the region said.
The ANC also said it was concerned about the financial standing of the city. The municipality had to recently take up a short-term loan from the Development Bank of South Africa in order to continue with service delivery.
“To this end, the ANC has noted the outcome of the auditor-general’s results regarding the City of Joburg, which received an unqualified outcome with findings. The ANC implores the GLU administration to change this picture, which represents a stagnation of audit opinion for the group for the last three years.”
The Star