“NO ELECTRICITY, NO VOTE,” SOUTH AFRICANS THREATEN TO SHUN RULING PARTY ANC. (PHOTO)

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 “No electricity, no vote,” South Africans threaten to shun ruling party ANC Residents in Katlehong, a township outside Johannesburg, have resolved to boycott South Africa's upcoming local elections on November 4 due to long-standing failures by authorities to provide basic services like electricity. For over 20 years, around 180 households in the community have relied on illegal electrical connections pulled from neighboring areas to power their homes. Angry over the lack of formal grid infrastructure, residents are directing their frustration at the ruling African National Congress (ANC). "We have made a collective decision: no electricity, no vote," said community leader Lesiba Rankapole, 59. "We know it is illegal, but we had no choice because we cannot live without electricity. Our children cannot progress without electricity." "I was born ANC, but today I do not want anyone to tell me about the ANC because I am suffering," added 57-year-old resid...

JOHANNESBURG MAYOR RESIGNS AMID ANGER AT STATE OF CITY. (PHOTO).


 Johannesburg mayor resigns amid anger at state of city


The mayor of South Africa's powerhouse city Johannesburg stepped down Tuesday after months of political wrangling and anger about the dilapidated state of the vast African economic hub.


The resignation of Kabelo Gwamanda - who held the job for less than 15 months - means the city of at least 4.8 million people will get its eighth mayor in five years when his replacement is installed.


Gwamanda had been under huge pressure to quit, with residents angry over poor delivery of services, including of water and waste collection, amid rising tariffs and deteriorating infrastructure, AFP reported.


Demanding the mayor's dismissal, the Johannesburg Crisis Alliance (JCA) complained last month of a "virtual collapse of services in terms of road maintenance, cleanliness and the provision of affordable housing".


The city said in a statement it will meet on Friday to elect a new mayor.


Media reports have tipped senior African National Congress (ANC) official Dada Morero - who was briefly mayor in 2022 - to replace Gwamanda, from the small Al Jama-ah Muslim party.


The ANC governs the city with coalition partners, having lost control in 2016. It had been in charge of Johannesburg since the advent of democracy in 1994 when it won the country's first all-race elections.

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