Emily Wellman Bain and Aimee McGill  
nmt@caxton.co.za

As the city faces unprecedented infrastructure collapse and poor service delivery, there are few in the city who feel Morero will make a positive impact before the next local government elections in 2026.

It is shameful, if not predictable, that the mayor, Dada Morero, did not feel it important to respond to questions posed to him as part of the State of the City feature series.

At a time when collapsing infrastructure, poor service delivery, and a lack of accountability are rife, the mayor, as the head of local government, needs to be held accountable.

“Johannesburg is in a crisis because of incompetent mayors over the last several years. If you combine corruption with incompetence, it is disastrous for any city and will take years to overcome when the right people are eventually put in place,” says Professor William Gumede from the Wits School of Governance.

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He says many people don’t understand that you can’t expect a functioning city with service delivery and prosperity if corrupt officials are elected. “It will never happen and has never happened in the history of mankind.”

Mark Heywood, human rights activist and writer, says, “Dada Morero is deeply complicit in the development of the corruption and management crisis in Johannesburg and is therefore not fit to be its mayor. His interests are primarily for his party, the ANC, his cronies, and himself.”

He says Johannesburg needs a new political beginning, which will only happen if its citizens prepare now to elect competent leaders in 2026.

“These should be politicians who are tried and tested servants of their communities, who are accountable, transparent, and willing to work together to build an inclusive, dynamic city.”

Also read: Crisis Alliance demands the mayor steps down or he will be removed

Ward 98 councillor Beverly Jacobs says of the mayor, who was installed in August for a second time after a brief stint in 2022, “There has been no improvement in any sphere of service delivery under his current leadership or when he was MMC for Finance, the role he left to become mayor. There has been a rapid state of deterioration, and one need look no further for evidence of this than the city’s financial position and the lack of service delivery being felt on the ground.”

I didn’t think you could get a worse official than former mayor Gwamanda.

“The mayor is not serious about getting things right in the city, based on the kinds of people he is putting into place in the executive.”

Julia Fish, from Outa, agrees. “Dada Morero has been at the centre of the coalition running the city back from when he was removed in 2021. Two Al Jama-ah mayors were in effect installed at his discretion by way of keeping the ANCs interests front and centre and to appease the EFF.”

He has de facto been running the city since 2021.

“Looking at the city’s budget, it is clear that there were serious problems stemming from his role as the Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Finance too.”

She lists the following as legacy points:
• R230 service charge for City Power pre-paid meter users.
• Attempt to have Johannesburg Property Company CEO Helen Botes contract extended.
• Putting the ANC first, rather than the city and its residents.
• Under funded city budget and financial mismanagement.
• Lack of oversight.

Read more: FEATURE: Is collapsing infrastructure causing the City of Gold to lose its shine

She says residents can’t expect too much in terms of service delivery before the next local government elections in 2026.
“We have had so much instability in both the position of MMC for Finance and of the mayor in recent years, we cannot continue to have so much instability. We are looking for accountability from the people who have been in those positions, and who are in them now, for all the decisions made during the mayorships over the last few years.”

Gumede says the two most important jobs in the city are that of the mayor and MMC for Finance, both of which have been held by Dada Morero.

Businesses and civil society are what is holding the city together.

“In the private sector, when things fall apart the business is closed, but state-owned entities can’t do that so the city pumps more and more money into the rotten system, but there is still no turnaround,” says Gumede.

Ailing infrastructure is collapsing across the board with ward councillor effectiveness being besmirched by endless escalations to city entities on behalf of residents when services fail.

It is hard to think of any city entity that is performing well, which leaves the future of the City of Gold uncertain, to say the least.

Caxton Local Media has been trying repeatedly since September 16 to either meet with Morero in person, or have him answer questions electronically. Despite multiple promises from the mayor’s office, and the last minute cancellation of an in-person interview, we were ultimately unsuccessful in having the mayor answer even one of our questions.

A sample of the questions posed to the mayor:
• What are your three biggest challenges as mayor?
• What do you hope to achieve before the next local government elections?
• As MMC for Finance – what role did you play in the budgets allocated to city entities which are often hamstrung due to budget shortfalls?
• Residents in Region B, for example, mostly pay their rates and taxes, yet the area is allocated the smallest share of the budget, resulting in the slow but deliberate decline in infrastructure or improvements – please explain.
• Do you feel communities are listened to at Integrated Development Plan (IDP) meetings?

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