Dada Morero, Executive Mayor of Johannesburg. Gallo Images/Lubabalo Lesolle
JOHANNESBURG - The ANC's Dada Morero believes he is still the man for the job.
Morero was speaking to eNCA on Monday and stated his case as to why Johannesburg residents should give him and his party another chance.
It comes two days after the ANC unveiled potential candidates for the 2026 local government elections set for November as it opted not to name its final mayoral candidates.
Morero’s name was enlisted alongside his deputy Loyiso Masuku and party veteran Reverend Frank Chikane.
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He said they have worked hard to revive the City of Johannesburg.
“The work that we've done in Johannesburg, considering what has happened between 2016 and 2022, is an indication that since we took over power in 2023.”
Much of what he told eNCA mirrors his State of the City Address back in May 2026, where he acknowledged the City’s mounting infrastructure and financial challenges but defended his record under the banner: We are a City at work.
As he did then, Morero once again painted a picture of a city that is functioning and growing despite decay and service delivery failures.
“There's been serious interventions that we're doing to reclaim the city, to ensure that we bring back the city to where it was, by law enforcement, dealing with financial sustainability of the city, and dealing with issues around service delivery,” he told eNCA.
But Morero’s hopeful picture of the city of gold comes at the back of critics who claim that it has lost its shine.
For residents living through water shortages, roads ridden by potholes, crime at its peak, and decaying infrastructure, seeing the glimmer of hope in Morero’s future almost feels impossible.
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Morero has put voters to the test: “Give the ANC a mandate to lead once more.”
This mandate, according to him, will act as a guide to delivering.
“Give us a full mandate so that we can deliver without having to go through tedious processes of negotiations in setting up coalitions. Allow us to lead on our own, for the next five years, which will give us the opportunity to correct some of the issues that have collapsed in Johannesburg.” he said.