City of Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero lives to see another day after the DA failed to oust him from office on Wednesday.
Morero and council whip Sthembiso Zungu faced the axe, but survived the no-confidence motions against them. ActionSA’s Nobuhle Mthembu, who held the position of speaker, did not.
In a dramatic twist, ActionSA announced moments before the council sitting that they would abstain from the vote. This meant the party would withhold their 44 votes in the debate to axe Morero. Despite this, Morero remained positive, telling council in his opening statement that they should have no fear.
“We are here today because of a democratic process, not because of these motions of no confidence that aim to destabilise the City of Johannesburg. We are building the Johannesburg we want to see. This is our task and our commitment. Focus and the will to serve must be the driving forces behind every decision we make during this council sitting.”
The confident Morero was assured of the government of local unity’s support, with his party the ANC, EFF, Patriotic Alliance, Al Jama-ah and other minority parties giving a strong backing of 144 votes.
The DA, FF Plus and ACDP only garnered 75 votes in their bid to remove him from office.
According to Herman Mashaba’s party, they had never pledged blind loyalty to the governing coalition and were not in agreement that their decisions are characterised as a “betrayal”.
ActionSA councillor Advice Chuma said it was an undeniable truth that the City of Johannesburg is in crisis.
“Service delivery has collapsed. Infrastructure is decaying before our eyes. Power and water outages are now part of daily life in this city. Potholes are left to multiply, refuse goes uncollected, and lawlessness is left unchecked. Our city’s entities, like City Power, are literally buckling under the weight of corruption, dysfunction and gross mismanagement.
“ActionSA will not defend mayor Dada Morero. We will not vote to keep a mayor who has presided over this mess. Johannesburg is falling apart, and his leadership has failed. That much is clear,” he said.
He called out the ANC’s coalition partners for keeping mum on Morero’s shortcomings, accusing them of being complicit in the chaos.
“What’s more shocking is the silence from the EFF, IFP and PA, who know full well this is a mayor who doesn’t bother to consult on his state of the city address, doesn’t bother to consult on the budget and doesn’t even bother to inform you when launching so-called 'bomb squads'.”
This is nothing short of transactional politics at its worst. What is most frustrating is that all of this comes at the expense of the residents we were elected to serve.
— Lebohang Mokoka, ActionSA
Despite its unhappiness with Morero’s leadership, ActionSA said it would not allow itself to be used in the DA’s political gimmicks.
“We will not be used as pawns in the DA’s latest cheap stunt. This motion is so clearly not about fixing the city. It is not about the residents of Johannesburg. It is a publicity stunt. It is a desperate gimmick by a party that is every bit as guilty as the ANC in collapsing this city.
“The DA has made zero effort to engage ActionSA, the third-largest party in this council, or other key parties about what comes next. There is no plan. No vision. No stability. Just a shameless plot to mask their deceit and betrayal of residents,” Chuma said.
He accused Al Jama-ah of scheming, claiming the party leaders had approached Mashaba, begging him to compel their caucus to support the DA’s motion.
He questioned why Al Jama-ah, a current ANC partner, would participate in the DA’s bidding.
“Well, straight from their own mouths ... they had a commitment from the DA to restore Kabelo Gwamanda as mayor if this motion succeeds. Yes, the very same DA that laid criminal charges against Gwamanda, accusing him of defrauding residents, now wants to hand him back the mayoral chain. You could not make it up.”
Chuma said his party does not trade in deception and would never be part of the DA’s “dishonest scheming that betrays the residents of Johannesburg for cheap political point-scoring”.
However, councillor Lebohang Mokoka, on behalf of ActionSA, conceded that their stance might declare ActionSA “persona non grata”, resulting in retaliation against their speaker.
“So be it!” she said. “Ask them to justify the merits of this motion and you’ll be met with silence and confusion. There are no real issues. No evidence. No foundation. This is nothing more than a cynical stunt engineered behind closed doors.
“This is nothing short of transactional politics at its worst. What is most frustrating is that all of this comes at the expense of the residents we were elected to serve. Nearly every day, she [Nobuhle Mthembu] has been present in our communities, ensuring that the voices of ordinary residents are not only heard but meaningfully brought before this council.”
“This is not actually about the speaker’s performance, but rather a convenient excuse to settle political scores, reward favours and perpetuate the tired cycle of dishonest backroom deals.”
Mthembu was axed with an overwhelming majority of 212 votes, with only 48 councillors rejecting the move.
After a day of resounding defeat, the DA said they condemn every party in council that voted to keep Morero in office. Caucus leader Belinda Echeozonjoku accused political parties in council of choosing positions over principle.
“No amount of spin by a failing executive can conceal Johannesburg’s rot and decay — but the residents of the city will not forget. ActionSA’s abstention in today’s vote is as good as a vote to keep Morero,” she said.
The ANC Gauteng provincial task team welcomed Morero’s victory, saying a clear majority in council still has confidence in the leadership of the mayor.
“Under the leadership of Morero, the city is making visible and meaningful inroads to stabilise governance, restore service delivery and respond to resident concerns. The recent appointment of a specialised bomb squad is but one example of a decisive intervention aimed at restoring safety and public trust, and forms part of a broader turnaround to bring Johannesburg back on track,” the provincial task team said.
“We commend all councillors, including those outside our coalition partners, who rejected the DA’s theatrics and chose to prioritise stability, service delivery and the developmental interests of Johannesburg residents.”
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