ActionSA has met with the ANC and conveyed that we will not vote to defend Dada Morero in the motion of no confidence tabled against him today. This decision was taken with full knowledge that ActionSA’s refusal will likely result in the ANC retaliating against the ActionSA Speaker in the motion tabled against her.
Our decision takes place against the background of ActionSA’s agreement last year to enter the legislature strictly to support the Government of Local Unity on an issue-by-issue basis, in order to prevent the city from being held ransom by coalition tensions in other municipalities.
In considering ActionSA’s approach to these motions, we remain unequivocal in our view that Dada Morero has failed in his leadership of the City of Johannesburg.
Across Johannesburg, it has become a universal reality that service delivery is collapsing. Water and electricity outages have become commonplace, road infrastructure is at its worst, and institutions like City Power are becoming wholly dysfunctional.
The responses of the mayor to this decline have been unacceptable with statements like “don’t expect big improvements while I’m in charge” and “we have prioritized certain routes within Johannesburg, which are G20 routes, to ensure that at least we can make them to be at the standard at which they should be. No potholes… no traffic signals that are not working”.
ActionSA will not vote to defend this indefensible track record, especially when basic governance matters are being mishandled without consultation. The announcement of the ‘Bomb Squad’ has lacked credibility as a gimmick, and the City has failed to recruit senior managers, opting instead for acting arrangements involving questionable characters in perpetuity.
Importantly, ActionSA repeatedly insisted that the R230 electricity surcharge must be rescinded. Cllr Morero initially agreed to this demand as Finance MMC but later reneged on that promise as Mayor. This was simply unacceptable for us and we will never be party to the betrayal of our residents, especially the most marginalized, sacrificed for political expediency.
It is for this reason that ActionSA will abstain from the motion today, as we will not defend this mayor, even if it costs us in the impending vote against our Speaker. ActionSA will never compromise the interests of Johannesburg residents for positions.
However, ActionSA’s decision to abstain from the motion against the mayor is also informed by the scheming approach of the DA. In its traditionally arrogant manner, the DA has failed to engage with ActionSA and other parties to communicate what alternative government would replace the GLU if the motion were to succeed.
In a city plagued by a revolving door of mayors and instability that has severely impacted its operations, proposing the collapse of the current government without any idea of what might replace it is reckless, as it could easily lead to an even less effective administration.
Furthermore, It is also difficult to accept the bona fides of the DA regarding any claim that this motion is anything more than a publicity stunt. When the DA had the chance to back their mayor in reclaiming the city, they collapsed no fewer than four separate attempts to restore the coalition under Dr Mpho Phalatse. On the final occasion, ActionSA relinquished two of its three MMC positions to the PA in a deal that restored a majority under Phalatse, only for the DA national structures to collapse the agreement against the wishes of their regional and provincial structures.
The idea that the DA’s motion is about saving the residents of Johannesburg lacks all credibility when one considers that it is the DA’s own actions that have led to the situation in which Johannesburg now finds itself.
In a stunning revelation, ActionSA can reveal that Al Jama-ah, a coalition partner in the GLU, approached Herman Mashaba to support the motion against Morero, citing an agreement between Al Jama-ah and the DA to restore Kabelo Gwamanda to leadership in the council should the motion succeed. This is a shocking revelation, given that the DA was one of the parties that laid criminal charges against Gwamanda over allegations of defrauding people in a funeral plan scheme.
In the absence of the DA communicating any clear plans for an alternative government, ActionSA cannot support its motion, especially after learning of its duplicitous intention to restore Kabelo Gwamanda to the mayoralty of Johannesburg.
The bottom line emerging from the ongoing turmoil in Johannesburg is that the two largest parties, the ANC and the DA, continue to act in ways that demonstrate their unsuitability to lead South Africa’s economic heartbeat.
ActionSA will focus our efforts on convincing the residents of Johannesburg to change the makeup of the council so their service delivery needs are met through effective leadership, rather than political games played at their expense.
ActionSA Will Not Defend Dada Morero and Welcomes Any Reprisal for Our Principled Stance
ActionSA has met with the ANC and conveyed that we will not vote to defend Dada Morero in the motion of no confidence tabled against him today. This decision was taken with full knowledge that ActionSA’s refusal will likely result in the ANC retaliating against the ActionSA Speaker in the motion tabled against her.
Our decision takes place against the background of ActionSA’s agreement last year to enter the legislature strictly to support the Government of Local Unity on an issue-by-issue basis, in order to prevent the city from being held ransom by coalition tensions in other municipalities.
In considering ActionSA’s approach to these motions, we remain unequivocal in our view that Dada Morero has failed in his leadership of the City of Johannesburg.
Across Johannesburg, it has become a universal reality that service delivery is collapsing. Water and electricity outages have become commonplace, road infrastructure is at its worst, and institutions like City Power are becoming wholly dysfunctional.
The responses of the mayor to this decline have been unacceptable with statements like “don’t expect big improvements while I’m in charge” and “we have prioritized certain routes within Johannesburg, which are G20 routes, to ensure that at least we can make them to be at the standard at which they should be. No potholes… no traffic signals that are not working”.
ActionSA will not vote to defend this indefensible track record, especially when basic governance matters are being mishandled without consultation. The announcement of the ‘Bomb Squad’ has lacked credibility as a gimmick, and the City has failed to recruit senior managers, opting instead for acting arrangements involving questionable characters in perpetuity.
Importantly, ActionSA repeatedly insisted that the R230 electricity surcharge must be rescinded. Cllr Morero initially agreed to this demand as Finance MMC but later reneged on that promise as Mayor. This was simply unacceptable for us and we will never be party to the betrayal of our residents, especially the most marginalized, sacrificed for political expediency.
It is for this reason that ActionSA will abstain from the motion today, as we will not defend this mayor, even if it costs us in the impending vote against our Speaker. ActionSA will never compromise the interests of Johannesburg residents for positions.
However, ActionSA’s decision to abstain from the motion against the mayor is also informed by the scheming approach of the DA. In its traditionally arrogant manner, the DA has failed to engage with ActionSA and other parties to communicate what alternative government would replace the GLU if the motion were to succeed.
In a city plagued by a revolving door of mayors and instability that has severely impacted its operations, proposing the collapse of the current government without any idea of what might replace it is reckless, as it could easily lead to an even less effective administration.
Furthermore, It is also difficult to accept the bona fides of the DA regarding any claim that this motion is anything more than a publicity stunt. When the DA had the chance to back their mayor in reclaiming the city, they collapsed no fewer than four separate attempts to restore the coalition under Dr Mpho Phalatse. On the final occasion, ActionSA relinquished two of its three MMC positions to the PA in a deal that restored a majority under Phalatse, only for the DA national structures to collapse the agreement against the wishes of their regional and provincial structures.
The idea that the DA’s motion is about saving the residents of Johannesburg lacks all credibility when one considers that it is the DA’s own actions that have led to the situation in which Johannesburg now finds itself.
In a stunning revelation, ActionSA can reveal that Al Jama-ah, a coalition partner in the GLU, approached Herman Mashaba to support the motion against Morero, citing an agreement between Al Jama-ah and the DA to restore Kabelo Gwamanda to leadership in the council should the motion succeed. This is a shocking revelation, given that the DA was one of the parties that laid criminal charges against Gwamanda over allegations of defrauding people in a funeral plan scheme.
In the absence of the DA communicating any clear plans for an alternative government, ActionSA cannot support its motion, especially after learning of its duplicitous intention to restore Kabelo Gwamanda to the mayoralty of Johannesburg.
The bottom line emerging from the ongoing turmoil in Johannesburg is that the two largest parties, the ANC and the DA, continue to act in ways that demonstrate their unsuitability to lead South Africa’s economic heartbeat.
ActionSA will focus our efforts on convincing the residents of Johannesburg to change the makeup of the council so their service delivery needs are met through effective leadership, rather than political games played at their expense.