Joburg mayor points to election campaigning after Kunene cash crisis outburst

Joburg mayor Dada Morero says the excitement surrounding the upcoming local government elections has contributed to communication challenges within the mayoral committee, with some members already shifting into campaign mode.

This comes after MMC for Transport Kenny Kunene in late June publicly expressed concern about the City of Johannesburg’s financial position, revealing that the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) had struggled to refuel its fleet due to cash constraints.

Last week Morero disclosed that the city’s cash reserves remain under severe pressure, with only 12 days’ cash coverage, about R2.8bn, well below National Treasury’s recommended minimum of 32 days.

Responding to the media’s questions about the non-alignment of his committee, Morero said election campaigning had begun across political parties represented in the Government of Local Unity (GLU), creating additional pressure on communication.

“Those who are leaders of different parties in the GLU are busy everywhere. Mr Mabaso has already been confirmed as the IFP’s mayoral candidate. The ANC is still busy with its processes, and other parties are also preparing their candidates,” Morero said.

“Once those processes are concluded, probably around August, all parties will be fully out there campaigning, raising their profiles and responding to the work they have done in government.”

Morero said while political leaders have a responsibility to campaign for re-election, they must also remain focused on governing.

“Make no mistake, it’s an election period; those who are in the seat of government also have a responsibility to ensure that they respond to service delivery matters while continuing to campaign for their own re-election.

“And I guess the issue of trust in the ANC-led coalition will be demonstrated as we move along until we get to November 4 and after that,” he said.

He acknowledged that the city had agreed to improve internal communication following Kunene’s public comments.

“The mayoral committee agreed yesterday that we must improve communication between the entities, the core administration and the Office of the Mayor,” he said.

“So all operations undertaken by the city will now go through the mayor’s office before they are communicated.”

Morero admitted that the election atmosphere had heightened public attention on disagreements within the coalition.

“Unfortunately, because it’s an election year, there’s that excitement as well. But we’ve agreed that we must improve our communication,” he added, pointing out that Kunene was announced as the Joburg mayoral candidate for the Patriotic Alliance [PA], while Mlungisi Mabaso was confirmed as the candidate for the IFP.

Sowetan’s sister publication recently reported on ANC regional chairperson Loyiso Masuku having emerged as the frontrunner for the mayoral race against Morero.

Morero, Masuku and Rev Frank Chikane were interviewed by ANC national officials, dubbed the top seven and led by President Cyril Ramaphosa, at the party’s headquarters Luthuli House.

Despite criticism over service delivery failures, Morero said the city was making progress in several departments that often received little public attention.

“The ANC, as the leader of the GLU, can demonstrate the successes we have achieved, although we acknowledge there are still negatives within the city,” he said.

“We don’t speak enough about the work we’re doing in healthcare, even where we’ve had to spend money on functions that are not our constitutional mandate. We’re doing significant work in our clinics, in social development and in economic development, where we’re supporting SMMEs.”

He added that residents often focused only on service delivery failures.

“It’s unfortunate that we only focus on what affects us directly. Yes, refuse was not collected, but there are many other programmes that are making a difference.”

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