South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) party has lost control of Johannesburg, the country’s largest city and economic center.
Herman Mashaba from the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) has been elected as mayor by Johannesburg council.
The ANC had run Johannesburg since the fall of apartheid more than 20 years ago. It lost its council majority in local elections, although it is still the largest party.
It has also lost control of the capital Pretoria and Cape Town.
Photo Wikipedia
Of South Africa’s six biggest cities, the ANC only won an outright majority in Durban, seen as a stronghold for South African President Jacob Zuma.
On August 22, there was drama at the Johannesburg council meeting, which lasted 11 hours.
A scuffle broke out between opposition party members and electoral commission officials and an ANC councilor who was sworn in earlier in the day collapsed and died shortly after Herman Mashaba was elected.
The ANC had won 44.5% of the vote, more than the DA’s 38.4%. The left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) with 11% found itself in the position of kingmaker and refused to give its votes to the ANC.
Herman Mashaba, a 56-year-old businessman, has promised to reform Johannesburg administration.
“As of this evening, corruption is declared public enemy number one in this city,” he told cheering supporters.
“Public monies that have been misspent, misused, over the last five, 10 years or so … we’re going to take this money, we’re going to look after it, so that we can provide basic services to our people.”
Herman Mashaba also pledged to tackle unemployment saying: “Over 800,000 of our residents, one-in-three, are today unemployed. We need to address this and we need to address this as a matter of urgency.”
South Africa’s main opposition party, Democratic Alliance, has laid corruption charges against President Jacob Zuma over the use of state money to improve his Nkandla private residence.
The move follows a report by South Africa’s top corruption fighter accusing President Jacob Zuma of unethical conduct over the upgrade of Nkandla house.
The changes to Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla private home, including a pool and cattle enclosure, cost South African taxpayers about $23 million.
Police are now obliged to investigate the Democratic Alliance’s complaint.
It will then be passed on to the National Prosecuting Authority which will decide whether there is a formal case to answer.
The refurbishment of the residence in Nkandla, in Jacob Zuma’s home province of KwaZulu-Natal, has turned into a major political controversy in South Africa as the country approaches elections in May.
The changes to Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla private home, including a pool and cattle enclosure, cost South African taxpayers about $23 million (photo Reuters)
A government probe in December cleared President Jacob Zuma, who came to office in 2009, of any wrongdoing, saying the improvements were needed for security reasons.
“We are laying charges because we want the president to be held personally liable,” said Mmusi Maimane, the national spokesman for the Democratic Alliance (DA).
The report released by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela on Wednesday said Jacob Zuma should repay costs for some of the unnecessary renovations from which he had “benefited unduly”.
Thuli Madonsela said that while it could be “legitimately construed” that Jacob Zuma had misled parliament, he made a “bona fide mistake” over which part of the renovations he was referring to.
Mmusi Maimane led a DA delegation to file their charges against the president at the police station in Nkandla, near Jacob Zuma’s home.
Referring to the Nkandla compound, he said: “I am angered because what we see behind us is corruption of the highest order.
“If we allow this president to continue today we are systematically allowing corruption to thrive in South Africa.”
Earlier, Gwede Mantashe, the secretary general of the governing African National Congress (ANC), said officials implicated in Thuli Madonsela’s report should be brought to book.
Gwede Mantashe dismissed the DA’s earlier calls for Jacob Zuma to be impeached saying opposition parties were trying to “sensationalize” the report.
[youtube -znkug0khoo 650]
This website has updated its privacy policy in compliance with EU GDPR 2016/679. Please read this to review the updates about which personal data we collect on our site. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our updated policy. AcceptRejectRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
