ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has issued a stern warning to the Johannesburg regional executive committee (REC) that Dada Morero will not be removed as mayor.
“There is no mayor that will be removed by the REC, let me tell you that and I’m going to meet them,” Mbalula said at a briefing at Luthuli House on Wednesday. “The mayor is there and is not going to be removed.
“The national working committee is clear that what the comrades in Johannesburg have done should not be done. We have challenges from time to time but these are our structures and we will discuss them.”
His comments follow reports over the weekend that the REC had decided that Morero should be removed as mayor of Johannesburg.
According to sources, the REC resolved to remove Morero after his close ally, Stanley Itshegetseng, filed court papers challenging the outcomes of the regional conference, which took place in December last year, citing irregularities.
Over the weekend, a few hours after Itshegetseng lodged his application, the REC met to discuss his application and agreed to remove Morero.
Some ANC insiders have accused Itshegetseng of being used by Morero to challenge the conference results. He works as an adviser to the chief of staff in the mayor’s office and is known to be a staunch supporter of Morero.
Since 2021, the ANC’s top seven leadership have been responsible for interviewing mayoral and premier candidates, a shift that has reduced the power of RECs and provincial executive committees to recall individuals they do not support.
Mbalula said the party’s top seven would interview mayoral candidates for all metros and secondary cities, noting that the move stems from decisions taken at the national general council and the national executive committee.
The party has finalised the framework and will present it next week, he said, adding that it will also address the calibre of candidates it intends to appoint as mayors.
“We will be inviting civil society to come and help us on this journey – what kind of mayor we need in Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, eThekwini and elsewhere – as we embark on interviewing candidates,” Mbalula said.
“We have been doing it but this time around it will be done aggressively. By May, we will be announcing our mayoral candidates before we launch our campaign in June or July.”
“The mayor is there and is not going to be removed”, ANC secretary-general tells briefing
