By Akani Nkuna
ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula said on Wednesday that the party’s Johannesburg regional executive committee (REC) has no authority to remove Dada Morero as mayor of the City of Johannesburg.
Mbalula told a media briefing at the party’s Johannesburg headquarters on Wednesday that the REC’s decision to recall Morero over the weekend was not endorsed by the party’s national officials or its National Working Committee (NWC), rendering it “null and void”.
He said the move contravened party policy and undermined the ANC’s internal separation of powers, adding that it would be subject to internal corrective action.
“There is no mayor that is going to be removed by the region. Let me tell you that. And I am going to meet the Johannesburg region. The [ANC] NWC is clear that what the comrades in Joburg have been doing, it should not be done. It should not,” said Mbalula.
“We face challenges from time to time, but it is our structures we will talk to them. The mayor [Dada Morero] is there and is not removed. We are going to come back to you next week [when] we are launching as the ANC the appointment of mayors in the cities.”
Morero remains in his post, Mbalula said, adding that party leaders would engage the regional structure and provide further clarity next week when outlining the ANC’s approach to mayoral appointments.
The dispute follows the Johannesburg REC’s decision to recall Morero, reportedly linked to tensions after a court challenge to the outcome of the party’s December 2025 regional conference, where Loyiso Masuku was elected chairperson.
Although Morero, a key ally of Mbalula, did not personally file the court challenge, it has been reported that allies aligned to him, including Stanley Itshegetseng, supported the legal action.
Mbalula said the ANC’s top leadership would soon begin a process to interview candidates for mayoral positions across metropolitan and secondary cities as part of its preparations for the 2026 local government elections.
“As we embark on this journey we will be interviewing people. We have been doing it, interviewing people but this time around it will be done aggressively. By May 2026, we will be announcing our new Mayoral candidate before launching our campaign [for Local Government Elections] in June, July,” Mbalula said.
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