ANC regional chair and Johannesburg MMC for finance Dada Morero has been elected as the new mayor of Johannesburg. (Lubabalo Lesolle/Gallo Images)
ActionSA has fielded Nobuhle Mthembu as the new speaker of Johannesburg after Margaret Arnolds relinquished the position during a special council sitting last Friday, which elected Dada Morero as executive mayor.
Morero’s election followed weeks of negotiations among political parties in the often fractious council. He was previously briefly mayor in 2022 but stepped down after the high court declared his appointment unlawful following a legal challenge from the Democratic Alliance (DA).
Dada’s election was supported by ActionSA, which agreed to work together with the ANC in Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni and said it would reconsider its relationship with the DA in Tshwane.
In a statement on Tuesday, ActionSA said Mthembu was an ardent advocate of accountability and transparency and was suitable for the job.
“Councillor Mthembu has been at the forefront of championing the interests of Johannesburg residents during her term in council, qualities that we believe make her an ideal candidate for the role of speaker,” it said.
The party added that administrative inefficiencies by the previous executive council was the reason behind the numerous crises in Johannesburg, including Usindiso fire last year in which 77 people died.
“As ActionSA’s caucus leader, councillor Mthembu has not only highlighted the numerous issues affecting the city’s ability to govern effectively but has also consistently made a deliberate effort to propose necessary solutions to get the city back on track,” the party said.
ActionSA committed to voting with the ANC in council — giving it its 44 votes — if the ANC voted in favour of removing mayor Kabelo Gwamanda and helping ActionSA get the speaker positions in both Johannesburg and Tshwane
This deal would enable the ANC to take back control in Tshwane, where ActionSA is in a coalition with the DA.
On Tuesday the ANC in Johannesburg said it had begun negotiations with other parties in Tshwane to form a coalition that will unseat the DA.
“There are no contradictions, no fear among parties. We’re speaking to each party. After we’ve agreed on what is to happen, we’ll move forward. We’re looking at Tshwane, and believe there’ll be change, but we’ve not concluded anything,” Gauteng ANC provincial secretary Thembinkosi “TK” Nciza told journalists.
The DA has managed Tshwane for more than a year with support from ActionSA, the African Christian Democratic Party and the Inkatha Freedom Party.
On Monday, ANC provincial chairperson Panyaza Lesufi said several parties had expressed interest in collaborating with the ANC to remove the DA.
“There has been a huge surge from various political parties in Tshwane who want the ANC to come back to rescue Tshwane. Obviously, it’s an opportunity that we are willing to work around,” Lesufi said.
This coalition shake-up is a reconfiguration of the previous deal clinched between the ANC and Economic Freedom Fighters in Gauteng last year, which saw minority parties taking up the mayoral chain while the two bigger parties shared the mayoral committee positions.
“In 2021, during the local government elections, the ANC lost all three metros, and we politely took our stance on the opposition benches. It’s only when those established governments had to collapse and the ANC was requested to step in,” Lesufi said.
“From that period, to date, two of the metros we lost are now back under the ANC’s control. There’s a huge chance of entering Tshwane, but we’re careful to enter some of these coalition governments.”