‘We’ll push this carriage until 2026’: New Joburg mayor Morero promises service delivery

ANC regional chairperson Dada Morero has been sworn in as the mayor of the City of Johannesburg.

Morero was elected mayor of the city with 189 votes from councillors at the Connie Bapela Chamber.

The meeting was attended by top leaders of all political parties, including ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba and the EFF’s provincial leader Nkululeko Dunga. The DA’s Solly Msimanga was also in attendance.

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Morero sworn in

“I, Sello Enoch Morero, swear that I will be faithful to the republic of South Africa and will obey, respect, and uphold the constitution and all other laws of the republic,” he said.

“I swear to perform my functions as a member of the mayoral committee of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality,” he added.

Morero sang Christian songs as he was about to make his acceptance speech.

“I should have done this during my first acceptance speech in September 2022; maybe I would have stayed longer than 25 days,” he said.

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Morero said he expected to hit the ground running and ensure that service delivery in the city goes undisturbed.

Morero’s second time as mayor

“We will push this carriage until 2026,” he said.

This was the second time Morero was sworn in as mayor of the City of Johannesburg.

His rise to the mayoral seat in Johannesburg resulted from an agreement with Action SA.

Morero received 189 votes from members of different parties, including the ANC’s coalition partners.

He is expected to announce his mayoral committee next week.

Speaker Arnolds resigns

Speaker of council Margret Arnolds resigned with immediate effect shortly after Morero was appointed as mayor.

In a statement released on social media, Arnolds expressed her gratitude to the Government of Local Unity for entrusting her with the responsibility to lead the legislature.

“It has been an honour and privilege to serve the City of Johannesburg in this capacity, and I am proud of what we have accomplished together,” she said.

She was instrumental in delivering Morero as mayor and has been seen as a close ally to the new mayor.

The Citizen understands that Action SA will field their candidate for the speaker position.

The party had agreed to take the legislature while the ANC took the executive.