ActionSA says it will not be fielding its own mayoral candidate on Friday provided the ANC sticks to previously agreed terms.
ActionSA occupies 44 of the 270 seats in the City of Johannesburg council, and has maintained that its support of the city’s new government hinged on the removal of Al Jama-ah councillor Kabelo Gwamanda as mayor, among other demands.
Gwamanda resigned on Tuesday, following months of sustained calls from opposition parties and civil society organisations that he should resign due to poor service delivery in SA’s largest metro.
The groups welcomed Gwamanda's resignation — which would be effective upon the election of a new mayor — saying it brought an end to months of instability, poor service delivery and general malaise in SA’s economic and financial hub, which contributes almost 20% to national GDP.
Joburg council speaker Margaret Arnolds has said a special council meeting would be held on Friday to elect Gwamanda’s successor.
The metro’s finance political head, Dada Morero, is waiting in the wings to take over as Joburg’s 10th mayor since the 2016 local government elections.
When asked if his party would support the ANC’s mayoral candidate in Morero, ActionSA national chair Michael Beaumont said on Wednesday: “We are waiting to see if the terms we have requested will be delivered. A lot will be based on that.”
Beaumont said the previously agreed terms were that ActionSA would take the speaker position as well as five committee chair positions. He said there appeared to be progress on those issues and “at this stage it doesn’t look like we will be fielding our own [mayoral] candidate”.
DA Joburg caucus leader Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku said the party’s Johannesburg, Gauteng and national leadership would meet on Wednesday night to chart the way forward.
The DA holds 71 seats in the Johannesburg council. “The meeting will decide on our approach for Friday,” she said, without saying more.
Morero did not immediately respond to a list of questions sent to him.
The ANC-aligned labour federation, Cosatu, said Gwamanda was the wrong choice for mayor.
“The ongoing challenges in the City of Johannesburg, which include but are not limited to continuous lack of water supply, the R200 prepaid electricity surcharge and dilapidated infrastructure in the city, placed the first citizen under huge amounts of pressure and frustration,” Cosatu Gauteng chair Amos Monyela said.
He said Gwamanda’s successor must be a “capable individual who will prioritise the interests of the people above all else and work diligently to address the challenges facing the city”.
“Having said that, Cosatu Gauteng has noted and welcomes the announcement of comrade Dada Morero as the ANC mayoral candidate. Comrade Dada has, over the years, proven to be a capable leader in all the portfolios he was deployed in including his current position as the member of the mayoral committee for finance. We firmly believe that his experience would be the change needed to return the city to its former glory and to ease the pressure off the citizens of Johannesburg,” Monyela said.
“While Cosatu supports the candidature of Morero as mayor, upon election, we expect him to relieve citizens from the prepaid electricity surcharge, work towards paying the debts the city owes to workers, rebuild the dilapidated infrastructure, address safety and security concerns in the city centre and townships, and strengthen accountability.”
Meanwhile, EFF Gauteng chair Nkululeko Dunga told TimesLIVE that the red berets would like to continue to serve on the mayoral committee when a new mayor was elected.
“There have been no MMCs who have been more visible in the City of Johannesburg than those of the EFF, who have advocated for better service delivery for the people. But we also understand that the discretion of the mayoral committee would lie with the newly elected mayor.
“We are hopeful that there will be a consideration of the EFF having looked at the track record, particularly in the City of Johannesburg, and our reaffirmation of a commitment to ensuring that there is the constitution of a government that delivers services to the people of Joburg,” Dunga said.
Gwamanda, whose party holds just three seats in the 270-seat council, was the ninth mayor of Johannesburg since the 2016 local government elections.
His predecessors were Parks Tau (2016), Herman Mashaba (2016-19), Geoff Makhubo (2020-21), Mpho Moerane (2021), Jolidee Matongo (2021), Mpho Phalatse (2021-22), Dada Morero (2022) and Thapelo Amad (2023).
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