Ahead of Wednesday’s motion of no confidence against City of Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero, Speaker Nobuhle Mthembu and chief whip Sithembiso Zungu, ActionSA Gauteng provincial chairperson Funzi Ngobeni says his party will abstain from the motion, with the understanding that the African National Congress (ANC) could retaliate against the ActionSA Speaker in the motion tabled against her.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) brought the motions on Monday.

“Our decision takes place against the background of ActionSA's agreement last year to enter the legislature strictly to support the Government of Local Unity (GLU) on an issue-by-issue basis, in order to prevent the city from being held ransom by coalition tensions in other municipalities,” Ngobeni stated.

Ngobeni pointed to failures under Morero’s leadership, saying across Johannesburg, it had become a universal reality that service delivery was collapsing.

“…water and electricity outages have become commonplace, road infrastructure is at its worst, and institutions like City Power are becoming wholly dysfunctional,” he said.

He noted Morero’s past utterances, such as “don’t expect big improvements while I’m in charge” and “we have prioritised certain routes within Johannesburg, which are G20 routes, to ensure that at least we can make them to be at the standard at which they should be”.

ActionSA said it would not vote to defend what it called an “indefensible track record”, especially when basic governance matters were being mishandled without consultation.

Ngobeni noted Morero’s recent announcement of a ‘Bomb Squad’ to ensure better governance, calling it a gimmick.

He said the City had failed to recruit senior managers, opting instead for acting arrangements involving “questionable characters in perpetuity”.

“Importantly, ActionSA repeatedly insisted that the R230 electricity surcharge must be rescinded. Cllr Morero initially agreed to this demand as Finance MMC but later reneged on that promise as Mayor. This was simply unacceptable for us, and we will never be party to the betrayal of our residents, especially the most marginalised, sacrificed for political expediency.

“It is for this reason that ActionSA will abstain from the motion today, as we will not defend this mayor, even if it costs us in the impending vote against our Speaker. ActionSA will never compromise the interests of Johannesburg residents for positions,” Ngobeni stated.

He further pointed out that the party’s decision to abstain from the motion against Morero was also informed by the “scheming approach” of the DA.

“In its traditionally arrogant manner, the DA has failed to engage with ActionSA and other parties to communicate what alternative government would replace the GLU if the motion were to succeed.

“In a city plagued by a revolving door of mayors and instability that has severely impacted its operations, proposing the collapse of the current government without any idea of what might replace it is reckless, as it could easily lead to an even less effective administration,” warned Ngobeni.

He highlighted that the idea that the DA’s motion was about saving the residents of Johannesburg lacked credibility, as he blamed the DA for creating the situation in Johannesburg.

“… it is also difficult to accept the bona fides of the DA regarding any claim that this motion is anything more than a publicity stunt. When the DA had the chance to back their mayor in reclaiming the city, they collapsed no fewer than four separate attempts to restore the coalition under Dr Mpho Phalatse. On the final occasion, ActionSA relinquished two of its three MMC positions to the PA in a deal that restored a majority under Phalatse, only for the DA national structures to collapse the agreement against the wishes of their regional and provincial structures,” Ngobeni said.

He claimed that Al Jama-ah, a coalition partner in the GLU, approached ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba to support the motion against Morero, citing an agreement between Al Jama-ah and the DA to restore former City of Johannesburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda to leadership in the council should the motion succeed.

“This is a shocking revelation, given that the DA was one of the parties that laid criminal charges against Gwamanda over allegations of defrauding people in a funeral plan scheme. In the absence of the DA communicating any clear plans for an alternative government, ActionSA cannot support its motion, especially after learning of its duplicitous intention to restore Kabelo Gwamanda to the mayoralty of Johannesburg,” Ngobeni said.

On Tuesday, the GOOD Party said it would vote against a motion of no confidence to remove Morero, arguing that while it did not endorse his leadership, Johannesburg needed stability and focus, “not more political theatre”.