ANC Firm on Coalition Partnerships Despite Morero’s No-Confidence Motion in Johannesburg

• The ANC Secretary-General, Fikile Mbalula, said that the party is unlikely to change coalition partners in Johannesburg ahead of local government elections
• This comes after Mayor Dada Morero faced a no-confidence motion over service delivery challenges and internal party divisions
• The City reportedly considers creating an executive deputy mayor position to enhance governance and service delivery

Justin Williams, a journalist at Briefly News since 2024, covers South Africa’s current affairs. Before joining Briefly News, he served as a writer and chief editor at Right for Education Africa’s South African chapter.

The ANC is not expected to abandon its coalition with smaller parties in the City of Johannesburg, despite a motion of no confidence being brought against Mayor Dada Morero, party Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula said.

Undermine governance ahead of elections

According to the Mail & Guardian, the party is also unlikely to work with ActionSA or the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the metro, with Mbalula indicating that changing coalition partners less than a year before local government elections would be impractical. Speaking on the sidelines of a media briefing, Mbalula suggested that removing Morero at this stage would destabilise the city and undermine governance ahead of elections.

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Morero is facing a motion tabled by coalition partner Al Jama-ah, which has accused him of failing to address persistent service delivery challenges, including water and electricity outages, deteriorating infrastructure and weak administrative performance. The party has also raised concerns about a lack of consultation within the coalition.

It was unclear whether the motion would proceed or succeed. Political sources indicated that some minority parties were willing to withdraw the motion if the ANC in Johannesburg formally raised their concerns with the party’s national leadership. ANC insiders said the dissatisfaction expressed by smaller parties was directed at Morero rather than the governing party as a whole. One source indicated that the ANC may engage its national leadership on the issues raised.

Morero’s resignation had been discussed

Another source suggested that Morero’s resignation had been discussed as a possible option to avoid the mayor being removed through a council vote. Mbalula indicated that removing the mayor so close to elections would be disruptive and unlikely to resolve underlying service delivery challenges in the short term.

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He also suggested that internal ANC divisions in Johannesburg may be contributing to the situation, with some councillors allegedly cooperating with opposition parties due to factional disputes stemming from last year’s regional conference. The conference, at which Morero lost the position of regional chairperson to Loyiso Masuku, has since been dogged by allegations of irregularities.

Creation of executive deputy mayor position

Meanwhile, the City of Johannesburg is considering the creation of an executive deputy mayor position. Political sources indicated that Masuku could be appointed to the role should the motion against Morero fail.

A proposal dated 29 January 2026 allegedly recommended establishing the position to strengthen executive leadership, ensure continuity when the mayor is unavailable and improve service delivery.

ANC Johannesburg region distances itself from vote rigging claims

Briefly News also reported that the African National Congress’s (ANC) greater Johannesburg region addressed recent claims of vote rigging.

Ballot papers, related to the ANC's Johannesburg Regional Conference in December 2025, were found in a Pretoria home.

Source: Briefly News