Morero out; ANC Joburg submits only three names for mayoral candidacy

The ANC Johannesburg regional executive committee (REC) has resolved to submit the names of Loyiso Masuku, Makhosi Ndlela and Jabu Moleketi to the party’s national leadership for consideration as mayoral candidates.

Masuku is Johannesburg’s deputy mayor; Ndlela, the ANC deputy chief whip in Johannesburg, is the Section 79 chairperson for transport; and Moleketi is a former deputy finance minister.

Mail & Guardian understands that the REC met on Monday and finalised the names.

The paper also understands that the name of the current mayor, Dada Morero, was raised during the meeting but did not receive enough support to be included.

This is the second time the REC has met to discuss the names of possible mayoral candidates after a faction supporting Morero argued that the first process had not been handled appropriately.

The REC had initially resolved to nominate Masuku and provided the regional office bearers (ROBs) with four additional names: Nhlanhla Lux, Chichi Maponya, Frank Chikane and Moleketi.

The ROBs were tasked with selecting two additional names to accompany Masuku’s for submission to the party’s national officials.

The publication understands that the Morero camp sent a letter of complaint to the party’s electoral commission. They argued that the responsibility for selecting candidates should rest with the REC, not the ROBs.

The M&G also understands that the electoral commission directed the ROBs to return the two names they had selected to the REC for consideration.

A source aligned with the Morero camp said they would probably challenge the process that took place on Monday. They believed the nomination of candidates should have been conducted by secret ballot rather than a show of hands.

The source argued that there was no motivation or discussion regarding the qualifications and experience of the candidates whose names were ultimately finalised.

Another source, aligned with the Masuku camp, told M&G that during the REC meeting on Monday, two additional names, Morero and Ndlela, were added to the list of candidates.

“We had to vote on all five names so that we could narrow the list down to three. Loyiso was agreed to unanimously, Jabu Moleketi was voted in, Makhosi was voted in, Chichi got two votes and Dada got none,” the source said.

The source added that no one had objected to Masuku’s nomination, while Moleketi and Ndlela received sufficient support.

Regional secretary Sasabona Manganyi did not respond to requests for comment.