ActionSA has finally announced their preferred candidate for the position of speaker, following weeks of negotiations with the African National Congress (ANC) and other parties in council. The party had made it clear that they will only support the ANC’s Dada Morero’s mayoral candidature on the following conditions: one if Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda is removed; the R200 surcharge added to prepaid electricity consumers’ bills must be scrapped; and the party gets the position of speaker. The party has managed to succeed in two of their conditions, which saw mayor Gwamanda resigning from his position and Margaret Arnolds also resigning as speaker of council shortly after mayor Morero’s elections. The position of speaker has been vacant since Arnold resigned on the August 16. The party has nominated their City of Johannesburg’s Caucus Leader, Cllr Nobuhle Mthembu, for the position of City of Johannesburg Council Speaker. The party through their provincial leader, Funzi Ngobeni, said “ActionSA believes that Cllr Mthembu’s unwavering commitment to accountability, transparency, and maximizing efficiency, along with her proven leadership skills, dedication to public service, and ability to drive meaningful change, will undoubtedly contribute to achieving these goals and improving the state of governance and service in the City of Johannesburg.”
