Dr Snuki Zikalala president of the ANC Veterans League and leader of the City of Joburg’s ‘Bomb Squad’ team, which is tasked with tackling the city’s challenges, asserts that they cannot remain passive while the city deteriorates.
Joburg mayor Dada Morero announced on Thursday in Kliptown that Zikalala, who is a former SABC news executive, would head the new team.
Zikalala will be the only remunerated member, while the rest of the squad will volunteer their time and expertise.
Joining Zikalala on the task team are three former Johannesburg city managers: Blake Mosley-Lefatola, Mavela Dlamini, and Professor Trevor Fowler.
They are accompanied by additional former city executives, including Gerald Dumas, who previously served as chief operations officer; Philisiwe Twala-Tau, a former executive director of community development and now a representative of the South African Local Government Association; and Reggie Boqo, the former chief financial officer.
Also serving on the “Bomb Squad” are Morero’s advisor Vicky Shuping, Busani Ngcaweni, principal of the National School of Government and a member of the city’s performance audit committee; economic and social policy researcher Dr. Khwezi Mabasa, EFF senior researcher Dr. Gumani Tshimomola, and Audrey Mothupi, chief executive of Systemic Logic Group.
Zikalala told the media that the team’s mission is to restore credibility to the city by injecting competence and capability into its operations.
“We are volunteering, as the mayor said, to make sure that we bring capability, especially to the city and make sure that the city functions,” he said.
“Because for us, we cannot sit back and say things are collapsing. That’s our main job… that’s why we are renewing the organisation, the ANC.”
He added that revitalising the city was part of the broader mission to restore functionality and accountability within the communities it serves.
“In other provinces, to make sure that what you said will be delivered to society must be delivered. Because we are coming from the organisation I am coming from, we say people are our fortress, our people are our forest,” he said.
“And when our councillors are held responsible, we are ensuring that the needs of our people are upheld too. We should live in a clean environment, a secure environment.”
“We should feel that we are part and parcel of the citizens of South Africa, the whole of South Africa. In other provinces, we are looking for all nationalities who are capable, who have skills, who have competences,” Zikalala said.
He said the Bomb Squad’s role is to revitalise independence and restore service delivery.
“That’s the role that we are playing as officials. We can’t sit back and allow things to collapse. That’s all…” he added.
Morero clarified that there is no official budget allocated to the Bomb Squad, since its members are serving voluntarily and are employed elsewhere in government or the private sector.
He did not disclose how much money the metro will spend on paying Zikalala.
While no specific timeline has been set for the team’s work, Morero said he hopes to see significant progress within the next year.
He said the broader vision for the city, which includes achieving a R5 billion budget surplus by June 2026 and increase Johannesburg’s economic growth by 1% to 3% over the next five years.
He added that the team’s purpose is to support existing city departments and enhance service delivery.
“These are individuals who are not employed by the city but are volunteering to give support and share their expertise,” Morero said.
The Bomb Squad will act as a specialised unit to fight lawlessness, tackle urban decay, resolve service delivery backlogs, and activate rapid response teams in affected areas.
The team will serve as the mayor’s “eyes and ears” and will focus on executing a high-impact visibility programme.
Their responsibilities will include monitoring and accelerating action on 10 priority areas outlined during Morero’s recent State of the City Address.
These include repairing potholes, cutting overgrown grass, ensuring functional traffic lights across the city, removing illegal refuse dumps, fixing streetlights in townships and highways, addressing sewerage spillages in informal settlements, and formalizing informal communities.
Who is Dr Snuki Zikalala
Zikalala, 74, is a seasoned ANC member and former commander in the ANC’s former military wing, uMkhonto weSizwe.
He served in the movement’s central operations in Lusaka, Zambia, from 1976 to 1980 under then-defence minister Joe Modise.
A qualified journalist and multiple award-winning investigative labour reporter, Zikalala is a well-documented ANC loyalist.
He worked for the Labour Bulletin after returning from exile in the 1990s before joining the SABC.
During his time at the public broadcaster, he was accused of supporting former President Thabo Mbeki during his power struggle with Jacob Zuma ahead of the ANC’s 2007 national conference.
He was also implicated in blacklisting commentators critical of Mbeki’s administration. Zikalala left the SABC in 2009 following the controversy, including reports of a taxpayer-funded golden handshake.
Politics
