The ANC in Johannesburg has been slow to launch its election campaign because of internal battles,
The mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Dada Morero, and his deputy, Loyiso Masuku, are in the middle of a political cold war while residents struggle with service delivery challenges.
This comes after reports on Sunday that the regional leaders of the ANC want Morero to resign immediately.
The ANC regional executive committee (REC), which is being led by Masuku, allegedly accused Morero of trying to destabilise the ANC in Johannesburg.
It convened an urgent special regional executive meeting on Saturday at the regional headquarters in the Johannesburg CBD after being served with court papers challenging the legality of the conference that elected the party’s leaders in December last year.
The court challenge is being brought by Stan Itshegetseng, an influential figure in ANC politics in Johannesburg. He is also seen as a close ally of Morero.
Concerns about the conference
One of the concerns that Itshegetseng raises is that the company that oversaw the election of the top five and the additional members of the REC is owned by a City of Joburg employee. The name of the company is Elections Management Consulting Agency of Africa (EMCA).
This company first came into the spotlight when police raided the home of the company’s owner after a tip-off that the ballot papers used at the ANC conference were lying around the house. A case of fraud has since been opened.
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An internal ANC communique seen by The Citizen shows some of the prayers that Itshegetseng has made to the court.
Itshgetseng wants the REC to cease to do its work, no longer interact with branches of the ANC in Joburg, no longer take any binding decisions on the structures of the ANC in Joburg and must not interfere with any governance matters or appointments/deployments to any office in the government.
“He is demanding that the high court set aside the results/nullify the outcomes of the 16th ANC Joburg regional conference and that an appointment of the new regional task team be done as a matter of urgency,” it said.
Why is Morero being recalled?
According to this communique, the REC believes Morero is behind this court challenge because of his close proximity to Itshgetseng.
“After a long discussion, the REC members recommended that the executive mayor must be told to resign from his position with immediate effect.”
Backtracking?
But on Sunday evening, regional secretary Sasa Manganye seemed to be backtracking from the decision that the REC made on Saturday.
“The REC further noted with concern the leaking of unofficial internal discussions and urges media houses to allow internal organisational processes to unfold before publishing claims that may mislead the public and undermine governance stability.
“The ANC in the greater Joburg region remains committed to working collectively to strengthen the organisation, advance service delivery and improve the lives of all residents of Joburg,” said Manganye.
Itshegetseng told The Citizen that Morero has nothing to do with his court challenge.
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Last month, The Citizen reported that the Morero faction of the ANC and Masuku’s faction had resolved to create a deputy mayor position to accommodate Masuku, who emerged as the chairperson of the ANC in Johannesburg at last year’s elective conference.
But there have been further tensions with Masuku’s faction demanding that two MMCs on Morero’s mayoral committee should also resign to make space for some of the top five leaders in the region.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, has told the media on various occasions that there is no need for Morero to be replaced by another ANC candidate during an election year.
He said the ANC leaders in Johannesburg should focus more on winning the upcoming local government elections for the party rather than fighting for positions.
He has also emphasised that the deployment of mayors in metros is the prerogative of the ANC national leadership, not the regional leadership.
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The Citizen has been reliably told that the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg will hear the matter brought by Itshegetseng on 18 April.
According to sources, Mbalula is also expected to discuss a report on the alleged irregularities at the controversial elective conference with other top leaders of the party. The investigation is expected to cover the issue of the ballot papers that were found dumped.
The Citizen has reached out to Mbalula’s office for comment. His comment will be added to this story when it is received.
Power dynamics
Research associate at the University of Free State Theo Neethling believes that with Morero losing the conference last year, Masuku’s faction has gained strength. He said this is problematic for him since Masuku holds political power over Morero.
“In my opinion Masuku now holds significant leverage. The rivalry between the two became clear late last year when Masuku defeated Morero for the ANC regional chairpersonship so that has changed the balance of power because Morero has lost control of the ANC regional structure and Masuku’s faction has now gained influence.
“The question is will Morero survive as mayor and I do not think this is likely because the situation is unstable and Morero has faced several motions of no confidence, one of which he survived based on procedure,” said Neethling.
Insiders believe that the results of this conference are important to ANC leaders like Paul Mashatile and Mbalula, as they will also boost support for those interested in becoming the next president of the ANC in 2027.
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