Following the resignation of Kabelo Gwamanda, the African National Congress’s Dada Morero has been elected the mayor of Johannesburg – again.
In a lengthy council meeting at the Metro Centre in Braamfontein on Friday, August 16, Dada Morero was voted in as the newest Mayor of Johannesburg.
This follows the resignation of Al Jama-ah’s Kabelo Gwamanda, who was increasingly unpopular among city residents who were unsatisfied with his leadership.
Morero received 189 votes. His only competition, Democratic Alliance caucus leader Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku, garnered 60 votes, well below the necessary 135 votes needed. This will be Morero’s second stint as the city’s mayor. He was in the role for just 25 days in 2022, squished between the two tenures of the DA’s Mpho Phalatse.
Dada Morero with Kabelo Gwamanda and Thapelo Amad. Photo: Kabir Jugram.
Morero will be Joburg’s fifth Mayor since the 2021 local government elections. The rotating door of mayors has been detrimental to the governance of the city, stalling crucial infrastructure and repair projects.
Since the 2021 local government elections, the opening of a R588-million Forensic Pathology Services lab has been pushed back and delayed numerous times. The last deadline set, June 30, 2024, has also been missed.
Nonetheless, in his acceptance speech, Morero promised Joburg will become a “construction site” and a place of growth after years of neglect and mismanagement.
Morero ended his speech by announcing his lineup of mayoral committee members, surprisingly including Speaker of the House, Margaret Arnolds. She has resigned from her position to take up her new office as MMC of Group Finance.
The only other change made was the appointment of ex-Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda as the new MMC of Community Development.
Morero seemed certain in his speech that his tenure as Mayor would last until 2026, when the next local government elections will occur. While a hopeful message and certainly one reflective of Morero’s positive attitude, the statistics on Joburg Mayors do not inspire confidence.
FEATURED IMAGE: Dada Morero giving his inauguration speech.Photo: Kabir Jugram.
South Africa is proud of its hard-won democracy – and yet some South African citizens would dispense with it, in exchange for better services. Can a state be called a democracy if no one believes in it?
In many nations worldwide, democracy is the only game in town. So entrenched are democratic values in their systems that it seems impossible to consider an alternate form of government.
And yet in South Africa, a relatively young democracy, 72% of citizens would be willing to forgo elections if a non-elected government could provide employment, housing, and security.
Unemployment, followed by crime, electricity, water supply, and corruption are considered the most pressing issues facing South Africans – all of which have been promised to be fixed, but not delivered on for the last thirty years.
People are clearly drawing a link between failing public services and the (dis)functionality of democracy. This is amplified by the fact that, according to the same Afrobarometer survey, 63% of South Africans do not feel close to any political party.
According to these facts, most South Africans do not feel represented by their politicians, nor do they feel served by them. This is unsurprising to anyone who has been paying attention to local politics in the last few years.
In the 2024 national elections, South Africans showed their disillusionment with democracy, with over 11 million voters not bothering to vote and an all-time low voter turnout. These sad statistics point to a decline in the belief that voting makes any difference.
I can’t fault anyone for assuming the democratic system is the issue. One of the supposedly most democratic countries on earth, The United States, consistently silences the voices of its citizens by manipulating voter districts, filibustering the senate to stall popular bills being passed, and allowing Super PACS to fund election campaigns with dark money.
How can anyone be expected to believe in democracy if this is one of its most ‘prime’ examples?
While I’m aware of our democratic government’s numerous failings, I still believe in democracy. This is because what most people understand democracy to be is a watered down, exploited version of its true form.
Many liberal democracies today are bogged down by bureaucratic processes and swayed by the power of corporate interests. These systems, with their dysfunctionality and inequality, should not be looked to as examples of ‘real’ democracy.
According to Helende Landemore, real democracy—democracy that actually delivers on its aims—emerges by bringing popular deliberation and crowd wisdom into the political realm. It only functions through popular participation, and is fashioned by the majority, not from the top-down.
In an unequal country such as South Africa, ‘real’ democracy then faces the hurdle of an all-powerful minority and a disenfranchised majority. However, this sort of democracy does exist on the outer edges of our society, in grassroots organizations and local politics.
In his book, Amakomiti: Grassroots Democracy in South African Shack Settlements, Trevor Ngwane sheds light on the direct, non-hierarchical forms of democracy that exist in shack settlements across the country.
Community groups come together to provide for and defend their members, become self-sufficient, and focus on social development on their own terms. Ngwane calls this “democracy on the margins,” but emphasizes it could come to serve all of us in society.
Would more South Africans believe in democracy if ours functioned differently? I certainly hope so. It is South Africa’s overall lack of development that gives democracy a bad name, not the system itself.
So, while South Africa and other countries continue to call themselves true democracies, it is imperative to remember that some democracies are more equal than others, and that only we should ever hold the power to decide our futures.
FEATURED IMAGE: Ruby Delahunt. Photo: Leon Sadiki.
WITS voting stations did not see long lines at the polls as many students skipped out on casting their ballots for the local government elections. Officials estimated that voter turnout was less than 30%.
Throughout election day, the lines at voting stations at Education Campus and the Old Mutual Sports Hall on East campus barely stretched past 20 people at a time. When Wits Vuvuzela went to check at 5pm if the voter turnout had improved, only two people were in the line at Old Mutual. “We were expecting 2 520 people but only 700 have showed up,” an Independent Election Official (IEC) official revealed. “Students don’t want to vote,” he said with a chuckle.
#IVOTED: Wits Vuvuzela journalists took time out from covering elections to cast their own votes. The local government elections went relatively smoothly with voting stations running from 7am to 7pm. Final election results are expected to be released from this evening. PHOTO: Zanta Nkumane
The scenes at the Wits polling stations were as quiet as a cemetery, with security guards and police sitting in a group chatting and snacking. “We’ve been bored all day,” said a police officer.
Across the Library Lawns, the ANC had set up a tent and was still campaigning. A group of about 20 student activists sangs songs in the chilly wind.After a study conducted by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) revealed last week that most students would rather protest than vote, this poor turnout may be a wakeup call for parties to re-think how they engage youth voters going forward.
Mokgadi Maila, a Mining Engineering student, said she was a second time voter but after voting, she was still doubtful if it would make a difference to political parties.
“I don’t think they’ll change anything. I hope they can deliver,” she said.While others went to the polls, some students didn’t bother to register to vote.
“You vote then what happens?” asked 23-year-old Smanele Mbhele, Honours Education. “I had better things to do today than vote.”
Although the turnout at Wits was not as expected, many South Africans made their X mark on the ballot for the Municipal Elections.
Over 133.000 voting booths were opened across the country. In preparation for the elections, the IEC had made arrangements to ensure that the elections remained free and fair.
Among the citizens who voted around the country was President Jacob Zuma who cast his vote in his hometown of Nkandla, in Kwa-Zulu Natal. Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane cast his vote with his wife, Natalie, at the Allen Glen High School in Roodeport. Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema cast his vote in Seshego, Limpopo.
This election has been highly anticipated with many opposition parties such as the DA and EFF expecting to increase their share of the vote at the expense of the ruling ANC.
With municipal elections taking place next week, the top three contenders are vying for the youth vote. Earlier this year, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has expressed concern about apathy among young voters who make up 66% of the population according to Stats SA. (more…)
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