Dada Morero is the new mayor for Johannesburg, how does his role fit into local government?
A brief overview of the different structures of local government which would be good to understand as Council is braced for changes in coming days.
Following the removal of Mpho Phalatse as Mayor of the City of Johannesburg and her replacement by ANC regional chairperson Dada Morero, Caxton Local Media broadly explains the workings of the council in the City of Joburg.
Morero was voted in unopposed after Phalatse lost a vote of no confidence by 139 after the DA and IFP abstained from voting, in a special council sitting on September 30. ActionSA did not arrive leaving the DA without the needed numbers for a positive outcome.
This is a substantial blow to the multi-party coalition that was set up following the 2021 municipal elections and a victory for the ANC and its allies.
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Below we broadly break down the various structures of governance within the City to better understand how the city runs.
There are three spheres of government, namely, national, provincial and local.
Under local, there is a further breakdown into metropolitan municipalities, local municipalities and district municipalities.
Metros exist in the six biggest cities in the country and include Johannesburg.
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Councils are elected every 5 years with the last election held on December 5, 2000.
The separation of powers rule is one of the cornerstones of our democratic system of government. This rule is seen most starkly at a local level between the Executive Mayor and the Speaker of Council.
The Executive Mayor and Speaker of Council are separated by the Leader of Executive Business who serves as the link between the executive and the legislature.
The mayor is elected at the first council meeting and appoints his or her 10 MMC’s (Member of the Mayoral Committee). The Speaker of Council is also elected at the meeting and appoints the Chief Whip and Chairperson of Committees (Chair of Chairs).
The mayor of Johannesburg works within the administrative side of local government within the executive.
The speaker of council is in the legislative arm of local government. The Whip of Council also sits here and is responsible for ensuring the allocation of councillors of the various political parties to the various committees. This is where your local Ward Councillor fits in.
An in-depth overview of local government structures, roles and responsibilities will be published soon.
Source: City of Johannesburg
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