Cosatu calls for Gwamanda to step aside until fraud case is resolved

Union joins growing requests for ex-mayor to withdraw form duties

Cosatu in Gauteng has called for the former mayor of Johannesburg Kabelo Gwamanda to withdraw from his duties as an MMC for community development until his fraud case has been resolved.  

The union's provincial secretary Louisah Modikwe said on Tuesday that the accusation levelled against Gwamanda raised serious concerns regarding vetting processes and the escalating fraudulent activities against the poor and the middle class.

"Workers are currently grasping at straws toiling to make ends meet. While saving funds for the eventuality of the costs of a burial, malicious criminals remain lurking to pounce on their hard-earned money through scams. Entities who are found to be culprits of such practices must face the full might of the law and not be spared," Modikwe said.

"It is disheartening to contemplate that Gwamanda held the position of mayor of the largest economies with a possible history of this nature. This exposes cracks in the vetting processes that if they had been followed, would have averted unwelcomed attention. The public would have also remained in the dark."

The developments deserve to be handled with a sense of urgency on behalf of the residents of the city to ensure that it does not impact on the service delivery.Mayor of Joburg Dada Morero

Gwamanda was arrested on Friday after he handed himself over to the police in Soweto and was later released on bail.

Allegations are that he conned unsuspecting Soweto residents through the iThemba Lama Afrika scheme into which they made monthly payments for funeral insurance.

One of his victims opened a case in January after allegedly telling police that she thought the directors of the company that had scammed her were dead until she spotted one of them on TV as a mayor of Joburg.

Modikwe said they expected Gwamanda to step aside to allow the legal process to unfold.

On Monday, the mayor of Joburg Dada Morero said fraud charges against Gwamanda met the minimum requirements for him to step aside.

"I am deeply concerned by the matter of the arrest of MMC Kabelo Gwamanda. The developments deserve to be handled with a sense of urgency on behalf of the residents of the city to ensure that it does not impact on the service delivery," Morero said. 

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