ANC national office bearers are set to meet tomorrow to discuss the quagmire their Joburg region faces.
This follows a motion of no confidence against executive mayor Dada Morero, who was saved at the last minute in the Thursday council following a decision by the speaker to defer his motion while she consults on the request for a secret ballot.
The bid to axe him was sponsored by a coalition partner, Al Jama-ah, who insisted that Morero must be shown the door because of his alleged refusal to collaborate and engage those who prop him up to govern, among other service delivery challenges.
A Tuesday political management committee, where all partners engaged, resulted in an ultimatum for Morero’s party to instruct him to resign or face embarrassment through the motion.
However, in the Thursday council meeting, a loophole arose regarding a request for a secret ballot to protect councillors, which bought the ANC time to go and consult Luthuli House on how to proceed.
Meanwhile, a surprise development in the council saw the adoption and approval of a recommendation report to establish a deputy executive mayor post.
A regional committee insider conceded that the creation of a deputy mayor post was an attempt to save the current mayor while bringing in regional ANC chair Loyiso Masuku as a deputy mayor.
The meeting might be a difficult one, considering that Mbalula is steadfast on defending Morero. The reason why the motion was not withdrawn but rather deferred was to buy time and allow that meeting to happen and see if there is any possibility of a resignation.
“The meeting might be a difficult one, considering that Mbalula is steadfast on defending Morero. The reason why the motion was not withdrawn but rather deferred was to buy time and allow that meeting to happen and see if there is any possibility of a resignation.
“Minorities are clearly not backing down, and this is Dada’s doing. He does not consult them, he does not attend PMC meetings, and he doesn’t account; it’s like he doesn’t take minority parties seriously. He doesn’t account to anyone. It’s bad there.
“There are chances that he might agree with the national office bearers and resign to avoid the embarrassment of being kicked out through a motion. Despite what he may decide, the motion of no confidence is still on the agenda. It was a way to buy time, to allow the ANC to deal with their internal matters and push this guy to resign, or the motion continues.”
The source said Masuku is in pole position for the deputy mayor position.
However, the insider felt strongly that despite this move being an attempt at brokering a peace deal, it will “create more problems”.
“This will not eliminate the division; it will elevate it. You will find that because Dada has ignored the city manager since he assumed office in December, he will opt to work with Loyiso, and so will other officials. When they work alongside the deputy mayor and not the mayor, it will cause trouble. So we will not be resolving the crisis; we will be deepening it. You might find that we are finding a solution, but in fact we are creating more problems.
Another highly placed regional insider dismissed the move as a “consolation prize”.
“They couldn’t get mayor, so this was the next best thing.
“You can’t have someone who commands almost half of the constituency of the ANC in the region being completely out of the structure. It’s a recipe for disaster from day one. It’s unlike ANC culture.
The disgruntled ANC regional leader said the minorities campaign is a sponsored view. Instead, the source alleged that the deputy mayor post might provide an opportunity for other coalition partners to bid for it.
“The EFF is watching us with closed eyes. Once the MEC approves ceremoniously, they’re going to say we can’t have a mayor and a deputy coming from the same party. But they are so inward-looking that they can’t even see that.”