Mayor of South Africa’s economic hub under siege

Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero is set to face his third motion of no confidence today, 29 January 2026.

If it succeeds, South Africa’s economic hub with an R89.4 billion annual budget, would have its 11th executive mayor in 10 years

Morero, who governs a fragmented coalition by a razor-thin majority, recently lost his bid for re-election as African National Congress (ANC) Johannesburg regional chairperson to Loyiso Masuku.

Since then, party factional battles have been playing out in the public arena, with Morero alleging vote buying in the regional conference.

This third motion of no confidence was brought by minority party, Al Jama-ah, with the support of other minority parties.

Al Jama-ah, with three seats in the 270-seat council, boasted two separate mayorships before Morero took office.

These parties, which were key kingmakers in helping the ANC retake control of the metro from Democratic Alliance-led administrations after the 2021 elections, are calling for the vote to be conducted by secret ballot.

In a letter to Council Speaker Margaret Arnolds, Al Jama-ah councillor and former mayor Kabelo Gwamanda cited 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.

The minority parties that form part of the ‘Government of Local Unity’ coalition alongside the ANC, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Patriotic Alliance (PA), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and other smaller parties, have written to the ANC in the region calling for Morero to step down.

In their requests, they have consistently cited service delivery failures as the core reason for their motion.

Yet, speaking to the SABC, Wits School of Governance Professor Alex van den Heever says the motion appears to be driven more by political factionalism than service delivery concerns.

“These parties voted for Dada Morero in June last year. So, there was a no-confidence vote and they were perfectly happy to support him,” said van den Heever.

“There’s effectively, objectively, no real difference between service delivery then and now. So, it suggests that this is not about service delivery.”

“This is about probably patronage politics tied to the possibility of a new ANC chairperson taking control of the mayor seat. That might be the driving force. It’s not really a governance issue.”

“That’s really about a change in the face of what has been a pretty disastrous coalition government,” added the professor.

ANC Johannesburg regional elective conference drama

Alleged ballot boxes and papers linked to the ANC’s controversial Greater Johannesburg Regional Conference were recently discovered at a private residence in Pretoria.

Police and officials from the ANC Secretary General’s office descended on the property on 25 January following the discovery of the election materials. 

The ballot papers were found abandoned in black plastic bags located in a vegetable garden at the back of the house. 

The stash included a significant consignment of documents, specifically result slips for “regional additional members” and ballot papers bearing ANC branding.

ANC officials on the scene expressed shock at the discovery. 

They told SABC’s Samkelo Maseko that the ANC typically signs contracts with election agencies that stipulate strict protocols for where ballots are supposed to be stored, noting that they were definitely “not meant to be at the backyard of a particular individual’s home.”

The house reportedly belongs to the owner of EMCA, the elections agency appointed to run the regional conference. This connection has fueled existing suspicions regarding the integrity of the vote.

Morero sent a formal letter of complaint to the ANC Secretary-General, Fikile Mbalula, regarding the conduct of the elections agency. 

In the letter dated January 21, Morero says the Gauteng leadership must respond to complaints about how the electoral committee and its members were appointed, as well as how it ran the conference.

Morero’s correspondence asserted that “the credibility of the elections agency has been severely compromised” and suggested that the entire election process appeared to be “orchestrated with a predetermined outcome”.

Morero’s complaint detailed that her recruitment occurred between 2019 and 2021 and was overseen by a specific Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC), within whose office she serves as a media specialist.

He further questioned whether the agency had disclosed any relationships with candidates prior to their appointment.

“The severity of the alleged transgressions by the election agency necessitates clarification from the provincial task team regarding their appointment process,” Morero said in the letter.

This is “especially in light of the agency’s conduct, which threatens the integrity of the ANC’s internal democratic processes,” he added.

Masuku said that the conference was run “fair and square” and denied any nefarious activities. These were sentiments echoed by the agency that ran it.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has said he is awaiting a detailed report on the discovery of the alleged ballot papers.