JOHANNESBURG - Johannesburg elected a new mayor on Friday, the seventh in three years to lead South Africa's biggest city as residents complain of worsening crime and basic services. Dada Morero, of the African National Congress, was elected after his predecessor Kabelo Gwamanda resigned under pressure. Johannesburg's governance has been defined by shifting coalition politics in recent years as no party holds a majority in the city council.
Morero was elected by an ANC-led coalition including Action SA and a host of smaller parties. Gwamanda, from the Al Jama-ah party which has three of 270 seats in the council, was chosen last year as a compromise between the ANC and its biggest coalition partner at the time, the Economic Freedom Fighters. Civil society groups say the political instability has contributed to a deterioration in everything from water to electricity to road maintenance.
"There's no coherence in policy," said Neeshan Balton, executive director of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation and a co-convenor of the Joburg Crisis Alliance, a civil society platform. "Each and every (mayor) runs their portfolio as their own personal fiefdom," he told Reuters. The alliance held a protest last month calling for Gwamanda's resignation.
Gwamanda has defended his record, saying in a statement he "managed to place good governance on course". Johannesburg, a city of around 6 million people, is home to both shiny shopping malls and luxury office suites in its financial district Sandton, .