Dada Morero has been elected as the executive mayor of the City of Johannesburg following Al Jama-ah's Kabelo Gwamanda's resignation this week. Morero is the ANC regional chairperson and Joburg council MMC for Finance.

A PREFERRED CANDIDATE

Morero was the mayor of Johannesburg for 25 days between September and October 2022 after the then mayor, Dr Mpho Phalatse, was removed from the position in a motion of no confidence. However, his election as mayor was deemed unlawful, unconstitutional, invalid, and set aside by the South Gauteng High Court. Following Gwamanda's resignation on Tuesday, the ANC regional secretary, Sasabona Manganye, confirmed that Morero was the party's candidate of choice. "We are reconstituting the local government of local unity to bring a new executive mayor with the experience and the technical know-how on how to build on our successes and address our challenges and to work tirelessly to make Johannesburg a city that offers opportunities, growth, and prosperity for all residents," Manganye said. He added: "It is in this regard that the regional executive committee of the ANC in Johannesburg, guided by the national officials as well as the provincial leadership has resolved to forward our regional chairperson and the current MMC of finance, comrade Dada Morero as our candidate for the position of the Executive Mayor."

TETH MAYOR IN LESS THAN TEN YEARS 

Morero received 189 votes from the ANC coalition partners including EFF, IFP, ACDP, Al Jama-ah, ActionSA and the Patriotic Alliance. He was up against the DA's Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku, who received only 60 votes. Morero is the city's 10th executive mayor since the 2016 local government elections. The mayors since 2016 are: Parks Tau (2016), Herman Mashaba (2016/19), the late Geoff Makhubu (2020/21), the late Mpho Moerane (2021), the late Jolidee Matongo (2021), Mpho Phalatse (2021/22), Dada Morero (2022), Thapelo Amad (2023), and Kabelo Gwamanda.(2023/24). After failing to secure enough votes to become the mayor, Kayser-Echeozonjou said that the parties who voted with the ANC could have sided with her party because of its track record of service delivery, good governance, and accountability. "But they decided to align themselves with the ANC's legacy of corruption and decline.Those responsible for sinking the ship that is Johannesburg, will not be the ones to rescue it. Parties were given an alternative to the ANC today. Instead of doing the right thing by Johannesburg residents, they chose positions in a coalition that has already demonstrated its incapacity to govern," she said.