Thapelo Amad, the newly appointed Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Community Development, has identified the digitisation of Johannesburg’s cemeteries as his primary objective. The Al Jama-ah councillor officially assumed the role after being sworn in on Tuesday.
“We would want to identify areas where we can perform in terms of service delivery,” Amad stated. “The first thing that I was thinking, because we live in a digital era, [is that] digitising the cemeteries will be one of our priorities moving forward.”
Amad succeeds Councillor Tebogo Nkonkou, who was removed from the post following allegations of poor performance. The Department of Community Development is responsible for the upkeep of Johannesburg’s public facilities, including libraries, museums, swimming pools, and sports facilities.
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Reconnecting with the community
Beyond modernising records for the deceased, Amad intends to revitalise services for the living. The former mayor, who held the city’s top office for just under three months in 2023, emphasised that politicians must bridge the gap between government and the public.
“We need to make sure that we are not far from the communities. We need to make sure that we go to the communities, we introduce ourselves [and that] we are actively involved as a department. They have to be actively involved … because they [have] day-to-day lived experiences.”
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Party support
Speaking ahead of the swearing-in ceremony, Al Jama-ah MP Imraan Moosa expressed full confidence in the new MMC.
“I am sure he will make us proud. Al Jama-ah has been a trusted party amongst many of the other parties as well. I’m sure this will help to ensure the service delivery and the mandate for the MMC for community development is fulfilled,” Moosa said.
Shireen Ebrahim, the party’s mayoral candidate for the upcoming municipal elections, echoed these sentiments, noting Amad’s previous leadership experience.
“It’s been a long journey that Al Jama-ah has had with the City of Johannesburg. I’m extremely happy that Thapelo has been sworn in as community development [MMC] because he’s definitely going to make a difference. He’s not new to the environment; he’s also served as mayor in the past,” she said.
Image: Former Johannesburg Mayor Thapelo Amad has been appointed as the city’s new Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Community Development. Credit: Nasreen Naido/Salaamedia
