Joburg opposition unites for no confidence vote

Koena Mashale Journalist
DA caucus leader Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku said the city, under Morero’s leadership, is collapsing.
DA caucus leader Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku said the city, under Morero’s leadership, is collapsing. 
Image: Koena Mashale

Opposition parties in the City of Johannesburg say the motion of no confidence brought against mayor Dada Morero and other city officials is about accountability, failed leadership, and political arrogance. 

Three motions of no confidence are being tabled in council on Wednesday against Morero and chief whip Sithembiso Zungu, are sponsored by the DA, and the one against speaker Nobuhle Mthembu, is brought by Al Jama-ah.

The programming committee approved the motions last week.

DA caucus leader Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku said the city, under Morero’s leadership, is collapsing. 

“As far as the DA is concerned, the mayor has shown by firstly writing to the Presidential Working Group to ask for intervention and then on top of that appointing a bomb squad without council approval that not only has he gone rogue but he has also shown that he is incapable of running the City of Johannesburg,” said Kayser-Echeozonjoku. 

“There are criminal cases involving some of these officials and the mayor is bent on protecting them. He’s ignored all political parties, including the DA, when it comes to the budget and alternative solutions we’ve proposed.” 

She said the DA had received multiple requests from the ANC members to support them in a secret vote but they rejected this approach. 

“We want the residents of Johannesburg to see who will vote openly to remove the mayor, and who will vote to keep somebody who is incompetent and not taking the residents seriously,” Kayser-Echeozonjoku said.

We want the residents of Johannesburg to see who will vote openly to remove the mayor, and who will vote to keep somebody who is incompetent and not taking the residents seriously
DA caucus leader Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku

ActionSA’s Michael Beaumont said they will accept if Mthembu, their member, loses her seat.

“It does look like, in all probability, ActionSA’s speaker may lose her seat today. We are not going to cling to positions without principle. No resident of Johannesburg is asking a political party to come here and defend this mayor today. ActionSA is not going to do that for the sake of positions,” he said. 

ActionSA Gauteng chairperson Funzi Ngobeni came out strongly in defence of the speaker. 

“This is a speaker who has worked. She turned around public participation and oversight. We’ll defend our speaker. When it comes to Morero, we don’t believe he is capable of taking the city anywhere. The same DA councillors who now criticise her didn’t even attend IDP [Integrated Development Plan] sessions across the seven regions. What is their interest, to defend residents or their political party?” he said.

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