By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Patriotic Alliance (PA) leader Gayton McKenzie has given the African National Congress (ANC) an ultimatum to reinstate Kenny Kunene within seven days.
This comes after the party has cleared Kunene of any wrongdoing after being found with the murder suspect at the time of his arrest in Sandton.
McKenzie said failure to do so will lead to the PA withdrawing from all its local government coalitions with the ANC across the country, including pulling out of the Government of National Unity (GNU).
Fullview learnt mayor Dada Morero refused to reinstate Kunene as the city’s transport MMC and McKenzie didn’t take that very well.
“We want to be treated with respect,” McKenzie said on the sidelines of Heritage Day Celebrations in Western Cape. “We can’t be treated like that by Dada Morero.
He’s got something against us, and we see it in how he treats the people of Westbury, he can’t even give our people water.”
Residents in the Joburg suburbs of Coronationville, Westbury, Newclare and Claremont have endured years of intermittent water supply.
Morero said, that the city had allocated R800-million to refurbish reservoirs at Hursthill, Brixton and Crosby. However, refurbishment of the Brixton reservoir is only due for completion in October 2026.
Johannesburg Water has been throttling supply — reducing water flow and pressure rather than cutting it off completely — since November 2024 to stabilise reservoir levels.
Kunene was suspended by PA and subsequently resigned from his position as MMC for Transport.
The position of MMC of Transport has been vacant since Kunene resigned.
Morero is under pressure to reappoint Kunene. The PA is part of the coalition that is keeping the him in power in the metro.
However the ANC said, it would meet with the PA to discuss the MMC vacancy and honour their agreement, calling the ultimatum unnecessary.
ANC Johannesburg spokesperson Masilo Serekele said, “We know that we are in a coalition with the Patriotic Alliance, but what we will not appreciate is the PA putting a gun to our heads.”
McKenzie explained that the GNU partners had an agreement to follow an internal process to first try to resolve disputes as they arose, but no such agreement existed at local government level.
“So we are leaving immediately from the coalition and we giving intention to follow the processes to withdraw from the GNU.”
McKenzie was appointed as Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture from 3 July 2024.
After ANC lost its parliamentary majority for the first time in 30 years, It agreed to form a GNU along with smaller opposition parties.