ActionSA Gauteng provincial chairperson Funzi Ngobeni on Thursday dubbed the Democratic Alliance’s (DA’s) motions of no confidence against City of Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero and Council Speaker Nobuhle Mthembu an “opportunistic ploy aimed at exploiting a city already in deep crisis”.

On Wednesday the DA announced that it had submitted the motions, citing that under the current leadership, basic services were crumbling, and communities were being neglected.

“There is no denying the deep governance crisis that has gripped the City of Johannesburg. Basic services are failing, infrastructure is crumbling, and residents have lost trust in their city’s leadership. ActionSA has not hesitated to confront these failures - evident in our principled opposition to the Adjustment Budget that sought to impose an unfair R230 electricity surcharge on residents,” explained Ngobeni.

However, he believes that the DA’s motion is not a “sincere effort” to restore sound governance, but rather a “cheap ploy”, to deepen instability.

“The endless spinning of the mayoral carousel, without any credible plan, offers residents no relief. It is a distraction and must be exposed for what it truly is — political theatre cloaked in hollow virtue,” he stated.

He accused the DA of being at the centre of collapsing its own multi-party government in Johannesburg, led by former Johannesburg mayor Mpho Phalatse.

“At a critical moment when compromise could have preserved stable governance, ActionSA offered to sacrifice two out of our three Executive seats to accommodate the Patriotic Alliance — a good-faith proposal that the DA arrogantly rejected,” he said.

He said the DA’s refusal to save their own mayor, opened the door to the African National Congress-led coalition that now governs the city.

“…the DA’s refusal to share power in the interest of residents directly contributed to the dysfunction they now claim to oppose. Johannesburg continues to bear the cost of their political intransigence,” he said.

MISREPRESENTATION AND POLITICAL GRANDSTANDING

Meanwhile, Ngobeni pointed out that Mthembu had a constitutional responsibility to uphold order and impartiality in Council proceedings.

“While we reject the DA’s deliberate misrepresentation of her conduct, ActionSA remains committed to accountability. All our public representatives are subject to monthly internal performance reviews to ensure they uphold the highest standards of public service,” he explained.

He noted that ironically, Mthembu had been at the forefront of leading the City’s Integrated Development Plan (IDP) public participation process — a process, he claims, the DA and its councillors have chosen to disregard.

“While the IDP public participation sessions continue until 12 May 2025, providing residents with a vital opportunity to influence service delivery and budget priorities, DA Ward Councillors have consistently failed to attend or mobilise their communities to participate.

“This dereliction of duty directly undermines the democratic process, and lays bare the DA’s hypocrisy. It raises a serious question about whether the tabling of this motion is a deliberate attempt to deflect from their own failures at grassroots level,” he pointed out.

Ngobeni further accused the DA of political grandstanding and said his party would scrutinise the DA’s motions to determine whether they genuinely served the public interest.

“The DA’s decision to table these motions without first engaging other parties underscores a clear lack of constructive intent. Their refusal to consult, even while knowing that no single party holds a majority and that a successful motion requires 136 Councillors, exposes the performative nature of their actions.

“With only 70 Councillors, especially after losing a crucial ward to the Patriotic Alliance, it is evident that the DA’s approach is not about building consensus to address the city’s governance challenges, but rather about grandstanding and undermining any real effort to resolve these issues,” Ngobeni said.