New Joburg mayor says R2bn DBSA loan ‘will be approved’
New Johannesburg Mayor Thapelo Amad has confirmed that the city’s council will prioritise a R2 billion loan from the Development Bank of Southern Africa.
Al Jama-ah’s Amad addressed the media following his inauguration as the city’s first resident on Monday morning.
The loan, which is meant to ease the city’s cash-flow crisis, was first proposed by ousted mayor Mpho Phalatse last year, but it was rejected by the ANC, the EFF, and minority parties.
“Of course we’re going to approve it,” said Amad.
“We are going to consult with the parties in the opposition. It is up to them if they want to participate or not. Nonetheless, where we are we have capacity to approve that particular loan in terms of numbers.”
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, who was also present at the briefing, said Joburg is in a dire financial position.
#JoburgCouncil On the R2bn loan that was proposed by Mpho Phalatse late last but rejected by council, Amad says that there is now “capacity” to approve it. pic.twitter.com/rRPWnBwwfH
— Jacaranda News (@JacaNews) January 30, 2023
Lesufi also confirmed the ANC in the province will consult with political parties in Tshwane in a bid to remove the DA from power.
“We want to stabilise all three metros. Tshwane is a case study that South Africans must dismiss this myth that when a certain political party runs a municipality they run it well. The municipality of Tshwane is that. Even the hardest denialist Helen Zille has accepted that what happened in Tshwane is not something that the DA stands for.
“R10 billion vanishes. R600 million was used wrongly. It’s not the ANC that says that, it’s the auditor-general. An independent body, they can’t pay Eskom. For the first time Eskom is threatening to switch them off. We can’t fold our arms as this coalition, we must rush to Tshwane and rescue the people of Tshwane.”
Eskom last week confirmed that Tshwane owes it a whopping R1.4 billion.
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