The DA will have a tough task cracking the numbers to remove Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero as coalition partners remain unmoved by the no-confidence motion against him.
The party announced this week that it would table a no-confidence motion against Morero and council speaker Nobuhle Mthembu on Wednesday.
DA caucus leader Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku said that under the current leadership basic services in the city are crumbling, communities are being neglected and local government is grinding to a halt.
“The executive mayor has failed the people. Instead of leading with integrity, his administration has been marked by mismanagement, patronage networks and a disturbing lack of transparency,” she said.
Despite the DA insisting it has the numbers to remove Morero from office, its caucus of 76 will have to convince their former ActionSA allies — who occupy 44 seats — as well as the EFF to back the motion to garner the 136 votes needed.
But coalition partners are standing by Morero, arguing that they all should take collective responsibility as they are co-governing the city.
ActionSA provincial leader Funzi Ngobeni dismissed the no-confidence motion, saying that the DA grandstands yet fails show up when it matters most.
“This is just a PR stunt and is not based on any pathway to victory,” Ngobeni said. “It is opportunistic of them. All of us are unhappy with the current state of the city and how it is looking, including the residents, and they know that a motion like this now is going to grab everyone’s attention.
“We don’t see this motion as a solution. It is ironic because the DA is vocal in the media but fails to attend crucial IDP [integrated development plan] sessions which communicate the city’s plans with residents and gives them a platform to make contributions. Their councillors don’t even hold public meetings in their wards. They are derelict in their own duties. Do they really care about their residents?”
EFF Gauteng chair Nkululeko Dunga said that despite not being approached on the no-confidence motion, his party has no intention of supporting a bid to remove the current city government.
“No political party has a majority in council, and therefore there must be continuous consultation with parties from different political orientations to consolidate a majority,” Dunga said. “The EFF is a part of government in the City of Johannesburg and by virtue of that any support for a motion of no confidence against the mayor is subsequently a vote of no confidence of the representatives of the EFF in the coalition government.”
However, he said it was Morero's duty to hold people accountable. “When you are an executive mayor you are the only person with executive functions. MMCs don’t have those, they have delegated authorities from the mayor. It is therefore his duty, through political interaction, to hold people holding certain portfolios accountable.”
A coalition insider said: “It is important for us to keep the coalition intact, despite the mayor’s shortcomings. He is not governing alone and should not be taking the fall for what is not going right in Joburg.”
Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi told the Sunday Times that the political leaders managing the coalition are in a process of getting their house in order.
“There are issues that have been raised, such as consultation, but I don’t think that those issues will make the motion pass. We are attending to them,” he said. “We are fielding a series of meetings to iron out issues; we have met with the EFF and ActionSA, we are left with the PA and others. By the time that motion comes, I’m confident that we would have resolved the minor differences.”
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