Kunene quits before the heat? Joburg mayor says city powerless after sudden resignation
Image: Timothy Bernard /Independent Newspapers
Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero says the city council has no jurisdiction over embattled Patriotic Alliance deputy president Kenny Kunene following his resignation as councillor.
Kunene, who was serving as Johannesburg's MMC for Transport, resigned from his positions as a Proportional Representation (PR) councillor and as a Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Transport in the City of Johannesburg on Saturday, after the Patriotic Alliance placed him on suspension pending an investigation into his alleged association with a murder suspect.
In an interview on eNCA, Morero explained that Kunene's resignation meant the city could not pursue any internal inquiry.
'Council works quite differently. He has resigned as a councillor, meaning he's no longer part of council. And council, therefore, does not have jurisdiction over him in terms of our code of conduct as councillors,' Morero said.
This is the hardest letter I ever had to write in my entire life, for sake of full transparency I am putting it here. pic.twitter.com/BaeiRbpFX4 — Gayton McKenzie (@GaytonMcK) July 26, 2025
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He stressed that the matter must now be handled by the authorities: 'It's a matter of the police and his party to investigate,once a councillor has resigned, we can no longer refer the matter to the ethics committee.'
The Democratic Alliance has written to the mayor, demanding a full investigation into Kunene's conduct.
''The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Johannesburg notes the resignation of Mr Kunene as PR councillor and MMC of Transport in the City of Johannesburg,'' said the party in a statement on Saturday.
The party said this came after it wrote to Morero demanding Kunene's removal as MMC of Transport, citing the powers granted to the Executive Mayor under section 60 of the Municipal Systems Act.
While Kunene is no longer a councillor, the DA stated it still demands that investigations proceed as outlined in its letter to the Mayor.
The party is calling for a full investigation into all contracts and procurement processes at the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA), a full investigation into the contractors and procurement process behind the Lilian Ngoyi Street repairs, and a full investigation into contracts, appointments, and procurement processes at the Metropolitan Trading Company (MTC).
The DA maintains that Kunene had direct political oversight of these processes, organisations, and projects.
DA Johannesburg Caucus Leader Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku said: 'Should the Executive Mayor fail to respond to the DA within 7 days, the DA will use all avenues at our disposal, including approaching law enforcement with the information available to us, to hold the Executive Mayor as Shareholder representative himself responsible for the alleged irregularities at JRA and MTC.'
Morero acknowledged receiving the correspondence but noted that it likely arrived before Kunene's resignation.
'They know the law. They know the code of conduct of councillors,' he said, adding that his office would respond formally.
Morero also confirmed that the city is working to fill the vacant MMC for Transport position: 'We are still discussing internally and at the right time we will announce the replacements. In no time we will give you the responses,' he said.
Turning to transport-related issues, Morero addressed concerns over the Bree Street refurbishment project, which faced delays during Kunene's tenure.
He confirmed there were problems with the initial contractor. 'The contractor was not meeting the milestones as required. The contractor also raised concerns about cash flow and about payments not coming on time. But as a result, between the contractor and the city, the contract was therefore nullified and a new contractor was brought in,' he said.
Despite earlier delays, Morero assured residents the city is back on track.
'The contractor made a commitment to us that indeed by the end of August, when the explosion has happened, they would have concluded the work. So we are on track and by the 30th of August we should be in Bree Street or Lilian Ngoyi Street to announce the completion,' he said.
The mayor revealed that the project's second phase ,widening the road, adding pavements, planting trees, and creating a more pedestrian-friendly 'complete street' , will take another year.
'We do apologise and we have said so to our residents that unfortunately there were contractual issues which led to the delays, and we are resolving them,' Morero said.
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