The ANC in Johannesburg is adamant it will “crush” a DA-led motion of no confidence against its mayor, Dada Morero, that will be debated on Wednesday and Thursday during a council sitting.
Morero, council speaker Nobuhle Mthembu and chief whip Sithembiso Zungu are all set to face a no-confidence motion this week.
“Under the current leadership, basic services are crumbling, communities are being neglected and the very machinery of local government is grinding to a halt. Johannesburg deserves better,” the DA said.
DA Johannesburg caucus leader Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku submitted the motions of no confidence moments before Morero tabled his state of the city address on May 7, where the mayor said R3bn would be used to address an infrastructure backlog in marginalised communities across the metro.
Johannesburg is suffering under the weight of poor service delivery, hijacked buildings, water and electricity challenges, crumbling buildings, corruption, uncontrolled illegal immigration and vandalism of traffic lights, dysfunctional street lights and rapidly deteriorating roads and bridges.
The DA is the second-largest party in the 270-seat Johannesburg council and sits on the opposition benches. The city is run through a multiparty coalition with the ANC’s Morero at the helm as executive mayor.
SA’s biggest metro, which is set to host the G20 Leaders’ Summit in November, is the subject of a presidential intervention aimed at addressing service delivery challenges in a metro that is responsible for 16% of SA’s GDP and employs 12% of the national workforce.
Speaking to Business Day on Monday, ANC Johannesburg regional spokesperson Masilo Serekele said: “We are going to crush the no-confidence motion. We constitute over 65% of council votes. The motion to us is a non-starter.”
Serekele said the council would not spend 10 minutes debating the motions as there was nothing substantial the DA raised.
He blamed political instability and the change of political leadership in most municipalities post the 2016 municipal elections for the challenges dogging Johannesburg.
“The city is where it is because of the disruptions in leadership changes from 2016, so it’s opportunism to then turn and blame the ANC for the infrastructure collapse. Those things don’t happen overnight. We have now stabilised the city’s finances,” Serekele said. The plan was to turn around the metro and bring political and leadership stability ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
“The motion is a distraction and we will deal with it.”
The no-confidence motions come as DA federal council chair Helen Zille has stated her intentions of running for Johannesburg mayor in 2026, saying she had unfinished business in the metro.
Zille, the former mayor of Cape Town and erstwhile premier of the Western Cape, was born in Hillbrow in 1951.
The past mayors of Johannesburg include Parks Tau (2016), Herman Mashaba (2016-19), Geoff Makhubo (2020-21), Mpho Moerane (2021), Jolidee Matongo (2021), Mpho Phalatse (2021-22), Dada Morero (2022), Thapelo Amad (2023), Kabelo Gwamanda (2023-24), and Morero (2024-current).
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