Newly elected Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero is said to have defied the provincial leadership when he appointed his executive council on Friday.
Morero was elected mayor last week after weeks of negotiations with parties in the council.
Morero held the position for a brief time in 2022, however, the high court dismissed his election after the DA challenged his appointment, arguing it was unlawful and unconstitutional.
After the elections, the ANC in the province, together with Morero, approached political parties outside its coalition to join a government of local unity, which paved the way for his installation as mayor.
The ANC received buy-in from ActionSA — a party that had long held the position that it would never work with the ANC — for the Herman Mashaba-led party to take over the speaker position in the province.
These negotiations culminated in Morero's election on Friday with the aim of expanding to the Tshwane council soon.
Morero surprised attendees of the special council meeting on Friday evening when he immediately announced his council during his inaugural speech to the mayor.
Insiders said his announcement was against a call by provincial secretary TK Nciza and premier Panyaza Lesufi, who wanted the ANC to hold key positions in Morero's mayoral committee (MayCo).
TimesLIVE Premium understands that Lesufi and Nciza had called for a meeting with Morero, which would have been held on Saturday after his election, to discuss a MayCo.
Insiders said a disgruntled Nciza raised this during the provincial working committee meeting on Friday evening.
“It was not part of the agenda, but the PS (provincial secretary) mentioned that they did not understand why there was a hurry to announce names. It irritated the officials in particular the PS and the chair [Lesufi],” the insider said.
Nciza and Lesufi refused to comment when approached by TimesLIVE Premium.
Morero denied that he was defiant when approached for comment. He said he had implemented the same MayCo he had appointed during his short stint as mayor in 2022.
“95% of the mayoral committee are the same people who were appointed in 2022,” he said, adding he had not excluded members of the ANC.
Morero added that his appointments had the backing of the regional and provincial office bearers.
However, the insiders said the two provincial heavyweights had earmarked the finance MMC for Morero's strongest political opponent, Loyiso Masuku.
The provincial leaders are said to have felt that the ANC could not afford to sacrifice two key portfolios in council to smaller parties.
Morero instead appointed Margaret Arnolds, a former speaker and ally of the African Independent Congress party.
“He can control Arnolds. Strategically, she works for him. Loyiso is someone who has ambitions, she would not serve his interests,” one insider said.
Masuku is believed to have also harboured an ambition to hold the finance portfolio, while Arnolds became collateral to the ActionSA/ANC arrangement, resigning as speaker on Friday.
Morero's detractors in the region are said to believe that Masuku should take over as regional chair when it goes to its election.
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