Soweto residents dropping off their CVs outside Morero's office. Picture: Screenshot
About three buses of Soweto residents arrived in Johannesburg on Wednesday morning for a march to Mayor Dada Morero’s office to hand over their CVs.
They said Morero’s proposal to employ foreign nationals as traffic officers shows that there are job openings at the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD).
Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, a Soweto youth leader said: “We thought to ourselves that we have to come and introduce ourselves to him and remind him that we are still unemployed and in need of job opportunities.”
Dada Morero, the mayor of the City of Johannesburg, who is also the African National Congress (ANC) regional chairperson, recently said foreigners should be hired by the JMPD due to language barriers.
He came under fire after a video clip of him making the suggestion went viral on social media.
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Morero’s suggestion was shot down by Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi in a post on X.
ActionSA said Morero’s suggestion was an “insult to thousands of South Africans who still aspire to wear the uniform, particularly the thousands of neglected police reservists who are ready to step up and serve”.
Interim chairperson of the party Michael Beaumont said the party will use its position in the Joburg council to ensure “this very bad idea never happens”.
Morero has apologised for his controversial comments, and the ANC told The Citizen that they believe that the matter is now over.
“The regional chair has apologised. I do not think the ANC is planning to do anything that the regional chair has proposed,” said ANC spokesperson Masilo Serekele.
An online petition to remove Morero surpassed 10 000 signatures within a day of its launch on change.org.
The ‘Recall The Mayor of Johannesburg’ petition was started by MadiBoity from Pretoria on Monday.
The petition declares: “We, South Africans, petition for the recall of the current Mayor of Johannesburg due to his lack of leadership and vision for the city.”
ALSO READ: Petition to recall Joburg mayor hits 10 000 signatures in one day
On Wednesday afternoon the petition had 13 813 signatures.
User Sandile Mbatha commented, “Dada Morero must fall, he’s spitting on the South African faces by announcing his plan to employ foreigners in a country where unemployment of the citizens is very high.”
Additional reporting by Faizel Patel, Itumeleng Mafisa and Nicholas Zaal
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