Dada Morero and Loyiso Masuku will go head-to-head again, this time for the ANC's mayoral candidate position.
Reverend Frank Chikane. Picture:Gallo Images/Fani Mahuntsi
The ANC’s mayoral candidate race in Johannesburg could come down to incumbent Mayor Dada Morero and his deputy, Loyiso Masuku.
This comes after sources in the ANC recently told The Citizen that Reverend Frank Chikane has pulled out of the race. The Greater Johannesburg Region nominated Chikane as one of three candidates recommended to the party’s top structures. The name of former deputy minister of finance Jabu Moleketi had also come up.
Some believe the 75-year-old Chikane would have been the right candidate to go against the DA’s Helen Zille, who is also the same age and is also politically seasoned, with a clean record.
Why Chikane pulled out
However, multiple sources told The Citizen that Chikane’s family advised him not to continue with the process.
“They are concerned about his health, safety and the general state of the city,” said a source.
Meanwhile, another source said that Morero and Masuku both went through the interview stages in the party’s selection process ahead of the mayoral candidate announcement this weekend.
“The national officials have had a tough time on this one because even on Thursday it still was not clear who will become the mayoral candidate. They have been in and out of meetings,” said another source.
ANCYL supports Masuku
Chikane was seen as a credible candidate for the ANC because of his clean track record and his outspokenness on clean governance and corruption. He is also the chairperson of the ANC’s integrity commission.
He has received the backing of senior party members, including the former minister of international relations and cooperation, Naledi Pandor.
However, the ANCYL has thrown its support behind Loyiso Masuku. The league says Masuku is young and should become the party’s mayoral candidate, since she is already the chairperson of the party in Johannesburg.
But those in favour of Morero as the party’s mayoral candidate told The Citizen that Masuku is not a well-known figure and lacks experience in leading a municipality the size of Johannesburg.
Morero and Masuku are known political rivals inside the ANC and contested each other late last year for the position of regional chairperson at the party’s Greater Johannesburg elective conference.
