Dada’s back in the mix. Yes, really

Did Dada Morero click a pair or red-soled shoes together three times and repeat, “there’s no place like home”? See, in a Dina Pule-esque turn of events, the loyal cadre is back on the shortlist to return to his post as Joburg mayor should the ANC dominate in the November local government elections. 

It’s an outrageous decision given how dismally Morero has failed in his responsibilities as custodian of the city, and it speaks volumes about the ANC’s attitude to accountability.

Yesterday, News24 reported that the ANC is embarking on the final interview phase for mayoral candidates in the metros ahead of what is set to be a tight poll – a referendum, if you will, on the party’s ability to govern effectively. And, according to the publication, Morero will be one of those interviewees.

Given that the ANC has the organisational capability of a disoriented wombat, it’s no surprise that it’s missed its own deadline on all this. A few months ago, the party announced that its candidate selection process would be wrapped up in June; it’s only now starting the interview process. 

This was to be its most comprehensive selection process yet, with senior leadership head-hunting potential candidates, regions choosing candidates, and the public invited to send in nominations for mayors. It should perhaps not have been surprised, given this breadth, that it ended up with 5,000-odd nominations, now whittled down to 150.

But the delay has left it far behind in the campaigning stakes. In Joburg, its most formidable rival, Helen Zille, has been on the campaign trail since September – and has left the ANC on the back foot as she shows up Morero’s governance failures. Who can forget the hapless mayor proudly repairing an elephantine pothole just days after Zille had braved a dip in the fetid pool?

So any mayoral candidate in the metro will not only be making up lost ground – they’ll also have the millstone of their own party’s abysmal governance record to contend with.

It’s hard to sway voters who have been subjected to weeks-long water cuts, power outages, uncollected refuse and crumbling road infrastructure (the Joburg Roads Agency’s pothole-repair programme recently screeched to a halt when it ran out of petrol money for its vehicles).

A curious choice

Given the state of the city, Morero’s apparent inclusion on the mayoral candidate list is curious, to put it mildly. More so when you consider that the party pulled him from a task team to improve governance in Gauteng municipalities. And given that he received not a single vote from the region when it put forward its preferred mayoral candidate. 

That honour went to current deputy mayor Loyiso Masuku, one of the front-runners for ANC candidate. No great shakes there either. She’s watched the city’s steady slide from the comfort of the mayoral committee couches since 2020. And as finance MMC she’s overseen the gargantuan, completely unrealistic and unfunded R97.1bn budget for the financial year that started on July 1, which has set the city on a collision course with National Treasury. Bloomberg last week reported a gaping R2.1bn shortfall in the budget, and noted the city had just five days of cash to cover costs in March – far short of Treasury’s 30-day benchmark.

There’s more hope for other candidates apparently on the list. Jabu Moleketi, a former deputy finance minister, would at least have the financial nous so deeply missing in the current cohort of cadres. And anti-apartheid veteran Frank Chikane will bring some heft, even if the ANC integrity commission he currently oversees is about as effective as a spoon at a knife fight.

But it’s Morero’s position on the list that should really raise public ire. His mere inclusion – even if it is a long shot – is indicative of a party desperately short on ideas. That someone who has so manifestly failed to uphold the public interest is given even a chance at a return to power can surely speak only to friends in high places. This is a party for which consequence management is an afterthought – and a distant second to political connections. Which is why it’s in the dwang in the first place.

ALSO READ:

• Masuku in Wonderland over Joburg’s crisis
• Who wants to be Joburg mayor?
• Zille, and Joburg’s battle for belief

_{Top image collage: Gallo Images/Fani Mahuntsi; Rawpixel; Currency.}