South Africa’s richest city elects its first deputy mayor

The City of Johannesburg has officially elected its first Deputy Mayor, the party’s Regional Chairperson and Johannesburg Finance MMC, Loyiso Masuku.

Masuku’s appointment supports the theory of Political Analyst Dirk Kotzé that the new post is a “strategic transition arrangement” rather than a measure to improve governance. 

He argued that the move was designed to manage internal ANC dynamics and that it “has nothing to do with service delivery.”

However, this has been denied by the ANC’s Grater Johannesburg Regional Secretary Sasabona Manganye, who discussed the election in an interview with SAfm Radio.

“Dada Morero remains our deployee, and we are confident in his leadership. That is why we have deployed the regional chairperson to work under his leadership as deputy mayor,” he said.

“It’s a well-deserved election, given her experience in local government. She is a seasoned councillor who has played a role in different positions in the same chambers.”

Mayor Dada Morero officially fell out of favour within his own party in December 2025, when he lost the position of ANC Greater Johannesburg Chair to Finance MMC Loyiso Masuku.

Speaking to Newsday recently, Kotzé said that Masuku “already had a victory over Morero” and that the creation of this new office facilitates a power shift without the immediate chaos of removing Morero as mayor. 

Although Masuku is waiting for the next local government election to officially stand as the ANC’s number one candidate, Kotzé said that filling this deputy role, which speculation suggested was always intended for her, will make her the “de facto mayor” in the interim.

This arrangement allows Morero to remain in office officially, while the ANC navigates the remainder of the term without the disruptions associated with formal motions of no confidence.

Masuku’s former role as MMC of Finance will now be absorbed into the Deputy Mayor position, changing the structure of the city’s leadership. 

Masuku accepted the responsibility unopposed. “We only had one nomination,” explained Speaker of Council Margaret Arnolds. “So councillor Masuku has been duly elected as the deputy executive mayor of the city of Johannesburg.”

Joburg’s mayor-in-waiting

Her appointment comes as Mayor Morero faces another vote of no confidence. Smaller parties in the city’s coalition government have cited Morero’s failure to provide decisive leadership as the reason behind the motion. 

Taxpayers will be paying  R1.2 million annually for Masuku’s salary. The official justification for the new post relied on a recommendation made three years ago by then-Gauteng MEC for Cooperative Governance. 

Opposition parties slammed the motion to create the new position as tone-deaf. 

During the debate, DA councillor Alex Christians argued that creating another high-level position does not resolve the city’s underlying crises.

The vote to create the position revealed a divided council: while the ANC pushed the motion through, 87 councillors from the DA and EFF voted against it, and 37 councillors, including those from ActionSA, abstained.

Masuku is the wife of former Health MEC Bandile Masuku. The couple came under fire in a controversial COVID-19 PPE scandal. 

According to News24, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) placed Masuku at the centre of tender irregularities in the provincial health department to the value of R125 million for personal protective equipment. 

The SIU found that “Masuku failed to execute his function in compliance with the Constitution and the Public Finance Management Act.”

Masuku denied his involvement and approached the high court to have the findings declared unlawful. He was, however, unsuccessful, as the court ruled the SIU findings were sound. 

Loyiso Masuku was working in the group Corporate and Shared Services Portfolio at the time, and took a leave of absence while investigations were underway.

She has served in multiple structures of the ANC, including the ANYL and the ANC Women’s League. 

She has held leadership positions in the City of Ekurhuleni, the Gauteng Government, and as the Finance MMC for the City of Johannesburg.