The DA has accused Kabelo Gwamanda, the MMC for Community Development, of collecting “duplicate” public submissions in favour of changing Sandton Drive’s name to Leila Khaled Drive.
Submissions from the public indicating their approval or rejection of the proposal were due to the City of Johannesburg by October 18.
Earlier this month, Gwamanda hosted a gathering at the Johannesburg Arts, Culture, and Heritage Offices where he collected more than 60 000 signed petitions in favour of Sandton Drive’s renaming.
ANC, Al Jama-ah, Africa4Palestine, and Cosatu leaders were among those present at the occasion.
The Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) received the submissions.
Gwamanda allegedly received unsigned and unauthored submissions, according to Leah Potgieter, MP and leader of the DA Sandton constituency.
“The submissions received lack key details for proper verification,” Potgieter stated.
Although the DA had received more than 5 500 submissions protesting the renaming of Sandton Drive, Potgieter blasted Gwamanda for organising the event.
“Those parties were not consulted, nor invited to the theatrical delivery of submissions,” said Potgieter.
After it was revealed that the previous mayor was reportedly involved in fraudulent operations, he was placed on special leave.
Accordingly, Potgieter stated that the DA is pressing the metro to halt the renaming process until an audit of all applications is finished.
“We demand that an independent audit of all submissions received during the public participation process is undertaken. The principles of our participatory democracy are being undermined in Johannesburg. That much is clear,” said Potgieter.
She further said Gwamanda’s suspected linkage to fraud cannot be allowed to spill over into democratic processes.
Leila Khaled, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), gained notoriety for aircraft hijackings and mass political killings.
Despite the DA’s mounting calls to halt renaming Sandton Drive after Khaled, the Joburg municipality previously clarified that it had followed the Naming of Streets and Public Places policy for the name changing process.
The spokesperson for the GPG, Vuyo Mhaga, could not confirm whether the provincial government conducted an auditing process of the submissions it received.
However, he told “The Star” that the provincial government does not have jurisdiction over local government issues.
“The Gauteng Provincial Government does not have any jurisdiction over local government. Sandton Drive is a road that belongs to the local municipality, it does not belong to the provincial government. This is a local government issue. As the provincial government, we don’t have jurisdiction over demarcation laws when it comes to local government,“ said Mhaga.
Attempts to get hold of chief specialist in the Community Development office, Thapelo Mafa, were unsuccessful at the time of publication.
The Star