VOTED: ATM’s John Senona is the new Speaker of Ekurhuleni

ATM’s John Senona is the elected speaker of the City of Ekurhuleni. The City of Ekurhuleni council has elected African Transformation Movement‘s John Senona as its new Speaker after a decisive vote that delivered a heavy blow toEFF’sNkululeko Dunga. Senona secured 94 votes, comfortably defeating Dunga, who managed 33 votes during a council sitting held at the Germiston Civic Centre on Thursday.

The election comes months after the city faced instability and tensions over leadership squabbles.Corruption has become the order of the day in the city. The position of speaker fell vacant last week after the resignation of Dora Mlambo, who was swiftly redeployed as Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Economic Infrastructure and Development. Thursday’s vote is widely seen as a test of the fragile balance of power inside the council chambers.

Senona’s commanding win is viewed as a decisive measure to keep the city stable. But the celebrations will be brief. Senona steps into the role at a time of mounting financial and governance pressure.

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His immediate priority will be steering council through the delayed adjustment budget, which is already overdue under the rules of National Treasury. Even more urgent is the looming threat from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), which could suspend the city’s debt securities after the municipality missed a deadline to submit audited financial statements. Those documents still require council approval before they can be formally lodged. Senona will also have to work on the issue of service delivery to the people of Ekurhuleni.

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