Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero is heading into yet another political showdown just 24 hours after surviving a motion of no confidence in the city council, with the ANC’s Johannesburg region set to elect new leadership on Wednesday.
The outcome will determine whether Morero maintains political control in South Africa’s economic hub and test the party’s internal cohesion ahead of its national midterm review scheduled for next week.
Morero, who was reinstated as mayor last year through a coalition arithmetic that has repeatedly shifted in the metro, will contest the position of ANC regional chair against the current regional secretary, Loyiso Masuku. The Johannesburg region is the ANC’s largest in Gauteng and traditionally one of its most influential.
Business Day was told Masuku’s camp would seek to trigger a change in the mayoral seat should she win the leadership race. “Yes, we will want to change the mayor,” a source close to the race said.
Control of the region has long been seen as a stepping stone to securing the mayoral chain, but this is no longer guaranteed with the onset of coalitions.
The city, South Africa’s economic and financial heart, is responsible for 16% of GDP and employs 12% of the national workforce.
Since the ANC lost outright control of Johannesburg in 2016, mayoral positions have swung between parties as alliances fracture and reforms stall. The emergence of new political forces, most notably former president Jacob Zuma’s MK party, has further splintered the landscape, making regional influence less predictive of who ultimately governs the city.
With the 2026 local government elections on the horizon, the ANC’s Johannesburg regional boss dared DA federal council chair Helen Zille, the DA’s party’s mayoral candidate, to bring it on.
“It is important that all outstanding processes related to the 2025 conference roadmap are finalised to ensure organisational stability and allow for a smooth transition into preparations for the 5th national general council, scheduled to take place from December 8 to 11,” secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said in correspondence to the region last week.
Other names vying for positions within the ANC region include Eunice Mgcina as his deputy, Lebohang Tshabalala as secretary, Nomoya Mnisi as deputy secretary and Maxwell Nedzamba as treasurer.
The incumbent regional secretary, Sasabona Manganye, is seeking a second term against Chris Vondo, a close ally of Morero.
Johannesburg’s municipal government has been criticised for many delays in addressing infrastructure challenges, especially an ageing, unreliable water supply system. Heaps of rubbish are a blight on the inner city, while many pavements have become open-air markets for traders.
In August, finance minister Enoch Godongwana wrote a damning letter to Morero, demanding a plan to rein in the metro’s unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
Godongwana had already flagged a crisis of accountability after uncovering R1.4bn in unauthorised outlays, R22bn in irregular spending and R705m in fruitless and wasteful payments.
With Luyolo Mkentane
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