Hannah Omarjee | homarjee@radioislam.co.za
11 March 2023 | 15:00 CAT
2 min read

Photo Credit: The Conversation

Johannesburg Environmental and Infrastructure Services MMC, Jack Sekwaila, has blamed homeless people for the city’s dirty streets. ActionSA disputes this and places full responsibility for the situation on the ANC. At the same time, Johannesburg Mayor Thapelo Amad claimed he had secured a loan to address the situation. ActionSA’s EISD portfolio head, Khomotjo Mashala, in conversation with Radio Islam International, said the party strongly condemns the MMC’s remarks.

Mashala said that the country is in this situation because of the lack of political will and enforcement and the disrespect towards the rules of law, which the ANC government failed to implement 29 years later.

Mashala says,” The MMC speaks of homeless people as if one decides to wake up and decide that ‘today I’m going to be homeless. I’m choosing to be homeless.’ They are there because the ANC government has failed to create adequate jobs to improve the lives of our people, so people are forced to be in the streets.”

According to Mashala, service delivery in Johannesburg has deteriorated, resulting in rubbish piling up on the streets, which can’t be blamed on the homeless.

Mashala claims that three departments in the city of Johannesburg need improvement. This includes the ‘Pick Up’ Department, responsible for ensuring that waste is collected on time and that surrounding areas are clean; the Public Safety Department or the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD), whose role is to ensure that rules and laws are adhered to, and the Development Training Department, responsible for issuing permits to businesses in the city, the biggest culprits of dumping.

Mashala said, “The MMC needs to channel his frustration here and not to the homeless. He must direct his anger and frustrations elsewhere, to his department, you know.”

The newly elected Johannesburg mayor, Thapelo Amad, told the SABC that the city had secured an R9.5 billion loan with an undisclosed stakeholder. However, this loan was not submitted and passed through the council for approval. ActionSA has submitted a motion of no confidence against Amad today, which will be tabled on 25 April 2023.

According to Mashala, “Mayor Amad is a totally inexperienced candidate between the ANC and the EFFs coalition too. He has repeatedly proven to be woefully ill-equipped and unable to articulate a coherent plan of action and vision for the city of Joburg.”

Mashala stated that ActionSA would be writing to Amad’s office this week to obtain answers about the loan from the Mayor directly.

Listen to the full interview on Sabahul Muslim with host Ml Junaid Kharsany here.