Joburg on track for 11th mayor in 10 years — here's what you need to know

The City of Johannesburg may be headed for its 11th executive mayor in 10 years as the ANC’s factional battles deepen.

In addition, the city may also soon get its first deputy executive mayor.

On Thursday, 29 January, incumbent Mayor Dada Morero is set to face a motion of no confidence, the third since he took over in August 2024 (one failed and another was withdrawn).

This one may also get withdrawn should the ANC and its coalition partners find one another overnight, although that appears unlikely.

Ahead of the motion, coalition partners in the city have held back-to-back meetings discussing Morero’s future.

Calls for Morero to resign

At a meeting on Tuesday night, the Political Management Committee (PMC), which includes parties in the Government of Local Unity, resolved that Morero should resign.

This, according to those who attended the meeting, would save the coalition government and the ANC an “embarrassment” should Morero be removed through the motion.

The ANC’s Johannesburg Regional Executive Committee (REC) has reportedly taken this proposal to the provincial structures and was expected to deliver a response on Wednesday afternoon.

The local coalition comprises the ANC, EFF, PA, IFP and several smaller parties.

Read more: The battle for Joburg – Five political heavyweights to duke it out for coveted mayorship

Speaking on behalf of the minority parties, the ATM’s Lubabalo Magwentshu said: “We have taken a decision to say we are not going to be commenting on this until we get feedback from the ANC on what transpired.”

Another leader of one of the minority parties said, “It was a heated meeting, but I think it’s quite clear where we stand. If he does not resign, the motion will go ahead in council. If he does, the motion will fall through automatically.”

In a letter to Council Speaker Margaret Arnolds, Al Jama-ah councillor and former mayor Kabelo Gwamanda formally requested a secret ballot, citing Rule 18 of the Standing Rules and Orders of Council.

“Given the highly sensitive and politically charged nature of a motion of no confidence, it is imperative that the Speaker actively upholds these principles by adopting procedures that protect individual councillors,” said Gwamanda.

Gwamanda believes that a secret ballot will protect councillors from intimidation, victimisation, or external pressure and also ensure that votes are cast freely, honestly, and in accordance with individual conscience.

However, it is improbable that the motion will proceed in secrecy, as the regulations do not allow for secret ballots in cases of no confidence or removal, nor do they grant the Speaker the power to implement a secret ballot.

An insider attested to this: “Arnolds is the custodian of the vote, and precedence is an important thing in our country.”

DA caucus leader Belinda Echeozonjoku said the DA felt vindicated by the looming motion, after unsuccessfully proposing a similar one a few months ago.

“It’s unfortunate that the city has become a political football for these coalition partners that cannot find each other,” said Echeozonjoku.

Masuku’s rise

The motion comes weeks after the current finance MMC, Loyiso Masuku, defeated Morero at the ANC’s regional conference in December, taking over the top position of regional chairperson.

It’s believed that the ANC’s smaller coalition partners want to remove Morero and, if successful, they’re expected to elect Masuku.

Traditionally, the ANC’s regional chairperson would be tipped to become the party’s mayoral candidate, and insiders say the motion is aimed at building Masuku’s momentum.

Things have, however, changed with the ANC’s national office-bearers now having the final say on who becomes a mayoral candidate.

Daily Maverick’s Stephen Grootes pointed out that in Joburg, the party faces growing anger from residents and stiff competition from the DA, which has named Helen Zille as its mayoral candidate. He believes the ANC needs a strong candidate who can take on Zille, but the Joburg ANC may still insist on Masuku, arguing she is their democratically elected leader and that the party must back women candidates.

Read more: The burning fires of internal political party tension — before the local elections

An anxious ANC councillor told Daily Maverick on Wednesday afternoon, “At the moment, things are not looking good. We are at the mercy of the REC [led by Masuku] and the outcomes of the political management council. [Failing] to convince [coalition partners], the ANC caucus must vote against the motion alone, and we all know what that means.”

Attempts to engage

On Monday, the ANC’s regional secretary for Greater Johannesburg, Sasabona Manganye, said the REC would endeavour to engage with coalition partners to vote against the motion and engage with Al Jama-ah directly to withdraw it to keep Morero in the position, particularly as the city grapples with several issues and the party contends with electoral decline.

“It is prudent for comrade Dada Morero to continue serving as executive mayor. This decision reflects a strategic intervention to strengthen political oversight, ensure disciplined governance and advance service delivery without disruption.

“Comrade Morero is an ANC deployee, accountable to the people of Johannesburg through the ANC and to the democratically elected leadership of the 16th regional conference,” said Manganye.

Manganye’s sentiments are not shared by all in the party. The ANC Youth League has called for Morero’s resignation, saying his loss to Masuku in the December conference created two centres of power.

In December, the party’s secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula, cautioned against such calls, warning that the ANC ought to rather focus on regaining lost ground.

“This is the problem — people are not looking at organising the ANC for the better, they are fighting over scrambles. We can make anyone a mayor at any time, but a mayor of what, a coalition government?

“We are not in power in Johannesburg: the task of the Regional Executive Committee that has just been elected should be fighting to get the ANC back, not getting rid of Dada,” said Mbalula during the party’s National General Council.

New deputy mayor

The proposal to have a deputy mayor in Joburg dates back to 2023, when the Johannesburg Council speaker received a letter from the Gauteng MEC for cooperative governance and infrastructure, Lebogang Maile.

Maile suggested the city consider appointing an executive deputy mayor, as per the Municipal Structures Act, saying the executive mayor’s workload had grown because of rising service delivery pressures, intergovernmental work and oversight duties.

However, the proposal was never tabled because of major leadership changes in both the executive and legislative arms of the city.

The proposal is now set to be tabled and debated on Thursday, 29 January. If approved, it will cost about R1.28-million a year, with the money set aside in the 2025/26 budget.

This is happening in a city of more than six million people that is already under severe strain, battling tight finances, ageing and failing infrastructure, ongoing service delivery and revenue collection problems, and persistent electricity and water supply challenges.

Read more: Joburg’s water woes continue in 2026 with 22 major outages in two weeks

The DA’s Echeozonjoku believes it is not the time to introduce a deputy mayor, citing budgetary concerns as well as findings from the Auditor-General.

“We do not believe that the city is currently in a position to afford an additional budget for a deputy executive mayor at all. The city should be focusing all the efforts to service delivery, which is collapsing.

“We don’t believe residents of Johannesburg should be footing the bill for a deputy mayor, especially when the city is in such a crisis,” said Echeozonjoku.

Maile’s proposal states that the absence of a formally established deputy mayor position presents “governance and operational risks”, particularly during periods when the executive mayor is absent or unavailable.

“This underscores the need to establish the position of Executive Deputy Mayor as a full-time Councillor, in order to ensure continuity of leadership and uninterrupted municipal governance.” DM