The African National Congress in Johannesburg has resolved to recall the city’s executive mayor, Dada Morero, following growing tensions within the party’s regional leadership.
The decision was taken during an urgent special meeting of the party’s Regional Executive Committee (REC) held on Saturday. Regional officials have now been tasked with informing the party’s provincial and national leadership structures about the move.
If confirmed by higher party structures, the decision could lead to Morero being formally removed from his position as mayor of South Africa’s economic hub.
Legal Dispute Sparks Leadership Rift
The emergency REC meeting was convened after the Johannesburg ANC received court papers challenging the legitimacy of the party’s regional conference held in December.
During that conference, current deputy mayor Loyiso Masuku defeated Morero to become the ANC’s regional chairperson in Johannesburg.
According to party insiders, the REC believes Morero may have been behind the legal challenge to the conference results, which has intensified tensions between him and the regional leadership.
A senior regional ANC leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the relationship between Morero and the leadership had deteriorated significantly.
“The REC is reviewing its decision to keep Dada as mayor because the relationship is irreconcilable, as the state is being used to undermine the elected leadership,” the leader said.
“We cannot co-exist. If we are to save the ANC and prepare adequately for elections, Dada cannot continue to be allowed to abuse the state to undermine elected leadership and weaken the unity and cohesion of the ANC.”
Accusations of Parallel Structures
Regional leaders have also accused Morero of running what they describe as “parallel programmes” since the December conference.
According to those within the regional leadership, these initiatives have allegedly undermined the authority of the ANC’s newly elected structures in Johannesburg.
The tensions escalated earlier this year when Morero submitted a formal complaint in January to Hope Papo and the party’s secretary-general Fikile Mbalula.
In the letter, Morero challenged the outcome of the regional conference and raised concerns about the conduct of the electoral committee that oversaw the voting process.
Allegations of Conference Irregularities
Following the complaint, Mbalula wrote to regional leaders and National Executive Committee deployees in Gauteng indicating that there appeared to be prima facie evidence of irregularities during the conference.
The concerns reportedly emerged after alleged ballot boxes from the conference were discovered at a residence in Pretoria.
These allegations have added further complexity to an already contentious internal leadership battle within the Johannesburg ANC.
Attempts to obtain comment from the party’s Johannesburg spokesperson, Mantombi Nkosi, were unsuccessful at the time of publication.
Wider Leadership Changes in Gauteng
Morero’s potential recall comes amid a broader wave of leadership changes within ANC structures across Gauteng.
The party has recently initiated a leadership shake-up across several municipalities, citing concerns about governance challenges, financial pressures and service delivery failures.
In the Emfuleni Local Municipality, executive mayor Sipho Radebe was instructed by the ANC’s Sedibeng regional leadership on 10 February to step down from his position.
Radebe resisted the directive and appealed to Mbalula, arguing that the recall was politically motivated and did not take into account the serious institutional and financial difficulties he inherited when he took office in 2021.
Political Turbulence in Sedibeng
Leadership tensions have also affected the Sedibeng District Municipality, where the regional ANC removed council speaker Moipone Modikeng and member of the mayoral committee for local economic development and tourism Lulama Gamede after they allegedly refused to step down voluntarily.
Regional leaders justified the interventions by pointing to what they described as an unprecedented decline in municipal performance across parts of the region.
These concerns include ongoing financial instability, deteriorating service delivery and governance challenges that have placed increasing pressure on local administrations.
The developments follow a turbulent period in the district during 2025 when former mayor Lerato Maloka was removed through a motion of no confidence amid allegations of financial mismanagement.
The controversy at the time included questions about a missing mayoral chain as well as scrutiny surrounding an overseas trip to Germany.
As the situation unfolds, the ANC’s national leadership will ultimately determine whether Morero remains in office or if the party proceeds with formally recalling him from the Johannesburg mayoral position.
