The ANC in Johannesburg is hoping to avert the demand by ActionSA to have its member appointed in the position of speaker by negotiating with other parties to join a government of local unity (GLU).
TimesLIVE Premium understands ANC leaders in the province and region have engaged with political parties to include them in the GLU.
The ANC has already sealed a deal with the IFP that installed its member Mlungisi Mabaso in the human settlements portfolio.
Dada Morero and his ANC colleagues in the province are waiting for a meeting of the party's top officials on Monday who will greenlight a coalition arrangement.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has indicated the party will focus its efforts on municipalities, with Johannesburg its priority.
Speaking during the ANC national executive committee meeting last week, Ramaphosa attributed the party's electoral losses to the instability, dysfunction and poor performance of metros including Johannesburg.
He said the party needed decisive intervention in the metros for the sake of engendering inclusive growth and ensuring there is job creation and poverty reduction.
“During this month, the national task team on coalitions will be engaging, starting in Johannesburg, and it will help to restore, rebuild and renew structures so we are able to better serve our people,” he said.
Ramaphosa is said to back Morero's ambition to ascend as mayor of the city.
His backing will almost certainly result in Morero receiving the backing of party officials when they meet on Monday.
However, regional deputy secretary Loyiso Masuku has also been touted as a possible contender for the job. She has the backing of ANC deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane.
The incumbent Kabelo Gwamanda is expected to resign this week ahead of the much-anticipated special council next week.
ANC insiders who spoke to TimesLIVE Premium said Gwamanda would hand over the reins amicably when a new mayor is installed next week.
The ANC's desires extend far beyond the mayoral chain.
The party is hoping to regain the speaker position and negotiate for ActionSA to take a position in the mayoral council.
Insiders said it would be a gamble for the ANC to hand the position to the Herman Mashaba-led party so close to the 2026 local government elections.
Mashaba's popularity in the region was evident in 2021 when the party gained 44 seats in council, becoming the third biggest party after the DA.
There are no other options we are willing to consider. The speaker position is vital. We need to ensure we control the investigative function of councillors and accountability in the council where this empty suit of a mayor has gone
— ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont
Its decision to join an ANC-led coalition in the city will signal it has veered off its original policy against working with the ANC.
Mashaba has been challenged by ActionSA's senate in the past on its policy against working with the ANC.
Last month, ActionSA indicated it would join a GLU provided the ANC met its demands, which included Gwamanda's axing, the scrapping of the controversial R200 electricity surcharge and occupying the speaker position.
The R200 surcharge has been a point of contention in council. Despite efforts by the ANC to review it, Morero previously told TimesLIVE Premium scrapping the surcharge is not an option, but it is willing to review the price with a view to decreasing it by R50. However, this could only be implemented in January.
The ANC is said to hope for EFF support when it votes for a new mayor to avert ActionSA's demand for the speaker position.
“If we have the backing of the EFF, we will have the necessary numbers to form a GLU. With ActionSA we have overwhelming numbers. But with or without ActionSA, if everyone comes on board, we are good,” one regional leader said.
EFF City of Joburg councillor and caucus leader Sepetlele Raseruthe said negotiations with the ANC had not started.
“Only after negotiations will all questions be answered,” he said.
ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont said their attitude is that the ball is in the ANC's court, and they will have to deliver on a number of key aspects.
“There are no other options we are willing to consider. The speaker position is vital. We need to ensure we control the investigative function of councillors and accountability in the council where this empty suit of a mayor has gone.
“In addition to speaker we would have to take up a bunch of committee chairperson posts because we need to have oversight on the vital frontline service delivery committees in the city, such as environment infrastructure and shared services, transport, public safety and so on.”
He said the ANC is free to accept their terms or not.
“If they want to accept the three-seat FF Plus and think they don't need the 44-seat ActionSA, I would suggest mathematically they are having a problem.”
The ANC had hoped to include the FF Plus in its GLU, however no meeting has taken place between the two parties.
The ANC has already gone into a coalition with FF Plus in Oudtshoorn municipality, where the two parties ousted the DA from government.
Beaumont said the value of the move is that they can guard the city and residents from the instability that arises and insulate them from being held over a barrel by the Patriotic Alliance (PA) or the EFF, calling them “parties that have the propensity to do so”.
“We're not desperate to be in government. We wanted to make a step towards stabilising metros from a service delivery point of view, and if they are not going to meet those terms they can go to hell.”
With eight seats in council, the PA is likely to reassume its mayoral committee seat held by Kenny Kunene, the party's deputy president.
Gwamanda has conceded he is a deployee “at the end of the day”.
“I accede to the will of the political party. The manner in which I came into office was a decision of a coalition and based on the circumstances at the time. The same would apply now that there is a move to reconfigure the coalition. There are politics at play all the time. A decision will be taken, I will wait for an instruction.”
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