The City of Johannesburg council has given the green light to a proposal to create the position of deputy executive mayor, who will earn more than R1.2m.
The recommendation finally made its way to council on Thursday, where it was voted in, giving the city manager the nod to get the ball rolling with its implementation.
A total of 107 councillors voted in favour, with 87 voting against, and 37 abstained.
This follows a letter drafted by cooperative governance and traditional affairs MEC Mzi Khumalo to then council speaker Colleen Makhubele in 2023 asking the council to consider this move.
“If your municipal council considers my proposal favourably, and once I approved the election of the deputy executive mayor, I will accordingly commence with the prescribed statutory processes to amend the Section 12 Establishment Notice of the City to make provision for your Council to, in terms of section 18(4) of the Structures Act, designate the duly elected deputy executive mayor as full-time,” read the letter, which Sowetan sister publication TimesLIVE has seen.
The recommendation comes on the back of the MEC’s proposal. According to a report to council, the establishment and election of a deputy mayor will strengthen executive leadership, ensure continuity of governance and enhance service delivery.
In light of the increasing complexity of governance and service delivery demands in the City of Johannesburg, it has become necessary to revisit the MEC’s proposal and consider the election of an executive deputy mayor to provide additional executive support to the executive mayor.
— Report
Councillors had ealier questioned the establishment of the position, questioning why now when elections are near and who the establishment of this office will benefit.
Franco de Lange from the Freedom Front Plus told council that the city is 26 years old and there has never been a need for a deputy mayor. “If this came at the beginning of this term, obviously there is more pressure on the mayoral office, the city has grown the population and also unfortunately the problems have grown.
“But really, madam speaker, don’t insult our intelligence. Eleven months before this term ends? It’s extremely suspect and my heart goes out to the government of unity (GOU). If you can’t keep your house in order don’t force something like this at an extra cost of the ratepayers.”
The Good Party’s Matthew Cook said the party was grappling with whether having a deputy mayor was necessary and appropriate now.
“Unfortunately that question has left the party not yet persuaded. The city is less than a year away from local government elections and we are operating in a period of political transition‚ fiscal stray and declining public trust.”
According to Cook, his party believes that council should be excising restraint and not expand.
“The city’s challenges are not rooted in a lack of executive they are in weaknesses and cracks that run throughout our administration buildings. Creating this (deputy mayor) office is not a silver bullet or going to resolve the City’s problems.”
The DA’s Alex Christians questioned if the establishment of a deputy mayor position was about the position itself or the residents.
“The people out there are crying, infrastructure is failing, [and] as far back as 2016 and we did not have sufficient funds to deal with it. People need services not positions. Setting the position up will cost about R10-million...”
The financial implications to the city have been revealed to be remuneration, allowances and benefits received by full-time councillors.
The new job comes with a R1.28m salary, which is expected to be accommodated within the approved 2025/26 financial year budget.
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