Timeline of Joburg mayors
|Published
For at least the past five years, the City of Johannesburg has been in mayoral limbo after several executive mayors were either voted out by a motion of no confidence or forced to resign.
The only time mayors seemed to have seen out their term, without political parties plotting their removal, was between 2000 and 2021.
From the ANC, Amos Masondo led the metro for 10 years between 2000 and 2011.
He was succeeded by Parks Tau who took up the position between 2011 and 2016.
For the 2016 local government elections, Tau was dethroned by now-ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba who served between 2016 and 2019. As the DA’s mayoral candidate, Mashaba assumed office through a coalition of the DA and EFF, securing an outright majority against the ANC, which had garnered only 44.12% of the votes.
Mashaba eventually resigned as mayor after he clashed with the DA in 2019.
Three-consecutive mayors died between 2019 and 2021 – Geoff Makhubu, Jolidee Matongo and Mpho Moerane.
The DA retained the local government for just a year, between 2021 and 2022, when Dr Mpho Phalatse was appointed the first black woman mayor. However, the good doctor was sent packing by a vote of no confidence – she was outvoted by 140 votes (129 voted for her retain her position).
Finance MMC Dada Morero took over the mayoral role in September 2022, but he barely spent a month in office as litigation ruled his appointment was illegal.
Phalatse was then reinstated but ousted shortly afterwards.
A coalition of the ANC and Al Jama-ah had Thapelo Amad elected mayor, filling in Phalatse’s shoes in January 2023. Similar to Morero, he also spent little time in office. He resigned after three months, escaping a motion of no confidence.
In May last year, a strong pact between the ANC, EFF and Al Jama-ah installed Kabelo Gwamanda as mayor. However, after allegations that he was heading a government of poor service delivery and inadequate leadership, Gwamanda stepped down on Tuesday.
The Star
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