Chris Avant-Smith

Attendance

Present

61

Leave of absence

3

Absent without leave

0

Arrived late

0

Left early

3

Reasons given for leave: Other (1), Ill health (1), Private business (1).

"Absent without leave" means the signed minutes of a meeting held while they were on council neither list them as present nor excuse them, and no similar name appears that day, so misspellings in the minutes don't count against anyone. Each square links to the minutes.

In the chamber

From the 10 sittings transcribed so far in their term. Times are approximate, to the nearest transcript line.

Not present when called

0

Times given the floor

10

Average wait to start

12 s

Average greetings first

0 s

In their words

Every time the chair gave them the floor in a transcribed sitting (10), newest first. The words are the AI transcript of that stretch of the livestream (Argon), so they can include the chair or an interjection; the time link is the place to check.

• 30 Sept 2026 · 03:06:12Item 20: Alderman Policy second phase · 52 s

  Read what they said (100 words)

  Thank you, Madam Speaker.

  Yes, sir.

  Thank you, Madam Speaker. That's We're getting there slowly. Um we as the DA, we do approve um this uh Aldermanship policy and especially the the bestowing of honorary Alderman titles on past uh members of this Council. I would just like to request that that those lists are continuously reviewed

  as on the original lists when we approved the Aldermans, um we there were a couple of Councillors that uh should have been made um honorary Aldermans. Um so if we could just review that, but the Democratic Alliance approves this. Thank you.

• 30 Sept 2026 · 00:25:15Leave of absence · 1 min 16 s

  Read what they said (120 words)

  Thank you very much, Speaker. I do have LOAs: Councillor Niemand, Councillor Nkwanyana, Councillor Dewes, Counc

  Just, just hold on. Okay, you will also forward the list. Sorry, Councillor Smith, someone was in my ears and I can only listen to one person at a time. Please also, you must also forward the list to us. But carry on. Apologies. I heard you, Councillor Niemand.

  No, no problem. Niemand, Councillor Nkwanyana, Councillor Dewes, Councillor Masera, Councillor Shackleford, Councillor Horwitz, Councillor Van Onselen, Councillor Bittkau, and Councillor Sherman have LOAs. And then for late arrivals, we have Councillor Schay and Councillor Truluck. And Councillor Finn was struggling to

  log on. But I will send this to you officially now. Thank you.

• 27 Aug 2026 · 00:06:39Direction on how to proceed with the delayed meeting · 19 s

  Read what they said (51 words)

  Thank you, Speaker, and good morning everybody. I do think that we should continue with the aldermanship policy, and I also think it's very important that we continue with the work of council today because that's why we're here, we're gathered, and I think it's very important. Thank you very much.

• 26 Aug 2026 · 03:38:09Item 37 · 22 s

  Read what they said (46 words)

  Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, Councillor Raphadu has just yelled out she's demanding breathalyzers when Councillor Maila stood up. I agree with Councillor Masuku where she says we have to uphold the decorum in this council, and that is not upholding the decorum. Thank you.

• 22 Jul 2026 · 07:47:2734 to 37 · 7 min 56 s

  Read what they said (877 words)

  Thank you, Madam Speaker, fellow Councillors and all the residents of Johannesburg. Today we are asked to consider yet another quarterly report performance report from the Legislature. But reports, percentages and compliance tables mean very little to the ordinary resident who sits in darkness, who drives through potholes, who waits for months for billing corrections, or who no longer bothers attending ward meetings because they have lost faith

  faith that anyone is listening. The real question before us is this: Is the Legislature fulfilling its constitutional responsibility to represent the people, exercise oversight and hold the executive accountable? The answer, regrettably, is no. The Legislature itself admits that citizen participation has collapsed. Only 48,997 residents

  participated against a target of 180,000, a mere 27% achievement. Ward committees managed only 142 meetings against a target of 405, achieving a dismal 36%. There remains 59 vacancies in ward committees, while coordination failures and cancelled Section 79 meetings due to late or no reports being submitted,

  lack of quorum or the lack of chairperson commitment continue to undermine grassroots democracy. But these are not just numbers. These figures tell us that Johannesburg residents are becoming disconnected from their own government. People are not apathetic because they do not care. They don't engage because they are exhausted. They are exhausted by burst pipes that remain unrepaired for months.

  They are exhausted by endless billing disputes aggravated by a mainly disengaged, poorly led administration. They are exhausted by traffic lights that do not work, roads that crumble beneath their vehicles, refuse that is not collected, and by promises that never materialise. The report itself recognises that severe service delivery failures are creating citizens who no longer feel enthusiasm for

  participating, nor trust the governance of this potentially great city. And who can blame them? The petitions system, which should be one of the most direct mechanisms for residents to seek relief, now has 1,780 petitions remaining open, with only 11 closed during the quarter. Worse still, there appears to be no credible plan to deal with this growing backlog.

  But what message does this send to residents? It tells them that even when they follow the rules, submit petitions, attend meetings and engage through official channels, their voices disappear into a bureaucratic black hole. Financial management paints an equally troubling picture. The Legislature spent only 63% of its operational budget against expectations, and recorded 0% of capital expenditure.

  Invoice payments within 30 days declined dramatically from 95% to only 67%. This matters because when municipalities do not pay suppliers on time, small business suffers, contractors stop delivering services, emerging entrepreneurs are denied cash flow, jobs are lost, economic growth stalls. The report also shows that only 69% of risk action plans were implemented,

  while Councillor compliance with the Code of Conduct remains at just 89%. Oversight without consequences is not oversight. Governance without accountability is not governance. And participation without outcomes is simply theatre. Madam Speaker, the Democratic Alliance believes that residents deserve better. We know this because where the DA governs, people experience something fundamentally different.

  They experience governments that understand that municipalities exist to serve residents, not political factions. In DA-led administrations, budgets are spent on infrastructure rather than left idle. Public participation is treated as a partnership, not a box-ticking exercise. Officials are held accountable for performance and consequence management is implemented.

  Backlogs are actively reduced rather than merely reported. Residents have confidence that when they log a complaint, submit a petition or raise an issue with their Councillor, action follows. The DA's approach is straightforward. First, we professionalise the administration. Appointments must be made on skill and competence, not cadre deployment. Second, we insist on transparent and measurable performance targets. Third, we enforce consequence management.

  If officials fail residents repeatedly, there may be repercussions. Fourth, we invest in infrastructure maintenance because preventing failure is always cheaper than responding to collapse. And finally, when we place residents at the centre of local government, a municipality succeeds when a grandmother receives an accurate water bill. It succeeds when a young entrepreneur can depend on functioning roads and reliable electricity.

  It succeeds when communities believe that attending a ward meeting is worthwhile because their concerns lead to visible improvements. Johannesburg should be the economic power hub of Africa. Instead, under unstable conditions, political expedience, power grabs and weak oversight, it has fast become a city defined by declining and poorly coordinated service delivery, growing frustration and diminishing

  Councillor, it's not me.

  Sorry, and diminishing public trust. It's a bit disconcerting when the Mayor walks out in the middle of your speech. Residents do not

  Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that the residents, you want to go home while the residents are sitting here. Residents do not want excuses. They do not want another quarter of missed targets. They do not want reports that try and justify failure. They want a government that works, and the Democratic Alliance offers precisely that alternative. An alternative built on clean governance, an alternative built on accountability and an alternative built on delivery.

  Johannesburg can work, but it requires leadership that puts residents first, governs with integrity, and understands that oversight is not about producing reports, it's about producing results. We note this report. Thank you.

• 25 Jun 2026 · 00:59:45Elevation of items · 18 s

  Read what they said (27 words)

  Thank you, Speaker. And well done, Bafana Bafana. That was amazing. Yay. Proudly South African today. May the DA caucus request a 15-minute

  minutes caucus break please.

• 24 Jun 2026 · 07:46:3689 · 31 s

  Read what they said (62 words)

  Thank you very much, Speaker. Speaker, this is very interesting, and looking at the Year Plan, thank you to the committees that put it together because they took into account a lot of the queries that we had, especially around when we're sitting and to look at the religious holidays, etc. So thank you very much, and we accept this. Thank you.

• 28 May 2026 · 04:30:15Item 1 · 5 s

  Read what they said (14 words)

  Thank you Speaker, I'd like to donate my two minutes to Councillor Kreusch, please.

• 28 May 2026 · 03:57:30Item 3 · 5 s

  Read what they said (15 words)

  Thanks Speaker. Could we get more water down here? It's so hot, please. Thank you.

• 28 May 2026 · 00:35:26Opening: conduct in council · 25 s

  Read what they said (55 words)

  Thank you, Speaker. I just want to caution Councillor Raphadu for misleading this chamber. That video wasn't streamed during council. If you look at it carefully, it was an editor, it was edited, and anything that was edited in it was taken from the YouTube feed and done post-council. So he's misleading council. Thank you.

Spoke on

• 30 Sept 2026 · 00:24:36Applications for leave of absence
• 30 Sept 2026 · 03:05:46Item 20: Implementation of revised Alderman Policy, phase two
• 27 Aug 2026 · 03:03:03Second quorum count and Rule 58.1 dispute
• 27 Aug 2026 · 00:05:35Councillors give direction on how to proceed
• 26 Aug 2026 · 03:37:45Dispute over alleged breathalyzer remark
• 22 Jul 2026 · 07:40:50Items 34-37: Legislature and Ombudsman
• 25 Jun 2026 · 00:57:42Items elevated for debate and DA caucus break
• 25 Jun 2026 · 06:32:04ANC Cllr Mzolo's speech and points of order on insults
• 25 Jun 2026 · 06:53:50Whippery break to cluster items and agreement on elevated items
• 25 Jun 2026 · 08:33:25Quorum counts and adjournment; quarterlies left unfinished
• 24 Jun 2026 · 00:38:46DA request for a 15-minute caucus
• 24 Jun 2026 · 01:02:25Return from caucus
• 24 Jun 2026 · 01:03:52Urgent debate on Eskom substation cut-offs: speakers list
• 24 Jun 2026 · 07:46:12Item 89: Year Planner and schedule of meetings July 2026 to June 2027
• 28 May 2026 · 00:24:32Register, headcount and Rule 30 on conduct of councillors
• 28 May 2026 · 03:57:20Cllr Avant-Smith asks for water
• 28 May 2026 · 04:30:07Item 1: Cllr Nkomo (ActionSA)