Dada Morero: A liability the ANC can no longer afford?

Political Analyst Professor Dirk Kotze suggests that the embattled Johannesburg Mayor, Dada Morero, has become a significant liability for the ANC as the local government elections approach in the coming months.

Morero’s leadership of the city’s coalition government has faced intense scrutiny. This pressure stems from ongoing protests regarding poor service delivery, the deteriorating state of the municipality, and significant delays in major infrastructure projects most notably the Brixton Tower and Reservoir.

READ: ANC Johannesburg moves to recall Mayor Dada Morero amid power struggles

Despite surviving three motions of no confidence in the council over the past year, Morero’s luck appears to have run out. The ANC’s Executive Committee in Johannesburg has officially resolved to recall him.

According to Kotze, this move was inevitable. He argues that keeping Morero as the face of the ANC’s mayoral campaign in Johannesburg would likely result in heavy losses at the polls.

Kotze notes that Morero’s lack of a solid internal constituency made his removal a pragmatic choice for a party facing stiff opposition.

“His record as a mayor has become an embarrassment for the ANC; I would call these [latest developments] motions of no confidence in him. As a person who is now vulnerable and doesn’t have a constituency within the ANC, it made it easy to get rid of him especially in the lead-up to the election where they are competing against people like Helen Zille and Herman Mashaba.”