WATCH | Morero insists Joburg’s glass is half-full, despite service delivery woes

Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero has mounted a spirited defence of his administration’s record, insisting that the city’s achievements are being drowned out by complaints about water shortages and failing services.

Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero is urging residents to vote for the ANC, despite the city having experienced persistent water cuts over the past few weeks. 🎥 Queenin Masuabi https://t.co/2AUPqgQZyO

— Sunday World News (@SundayWorldZA) November 3, 2026

With the ANC facing a crucial electoral test in the country’s economic hub, Morero used his election-day appearance to remind residents of what he believes his administration has delivered, from free basic water to municipal healthcare and generous rates exemptions for pensioners.

Speaking to journalists at Laerskool Roodekraans in Roodepoort, where he cast his vote on Tuesday, Morero conceded that Johannesburg continued to face challenges but argued that the public was too quick to focus on the negatives.

“There will always be challenges in every municipality. There will be times when there are fewer challenges,” he said.

READ: Dada Morero apologises for swearing at Joburg resident, party calls it ‘un-ANC’

Mayor defends service delivery record

The mayor maintained that interventions introduced by his administration had started yielding results, particularly in stabilising water supply over the preceding two weeks.

He acknowledged that the city had not completely escaped its water woes but insisted that progress was being made.

Morero also took issue with what he sees as a tendency to overlook the municipality’s social support programmes while concentrating on its service-delivery failures.

He pointed to the provision of 15 kilolitres of free water to indigent households, as well as municipal clinics and healthcare facilities, as examples of services that deserved greater recognition.

“We never talk about the indigents, that we do so much work to ensure that they receive services, regardless of them being unemployed and poor,” he said.

Relief measures for pensioners and the poor

He further highlighted rates exemptions for qualifying pensioners, saying residents over 60 whose properties are valued below R1.5-million are exempt from rates and taxes.

Those over 60 with properties valued below R2-million also qualify for the relief, according to the mayor.

But his upbeat assessment comes as Johannesburg continues to grapple with unreliable water supply, deteriorating infrastructure and the broader frustrations of residents who expect basic municipal services to work.

Morero also revealed that his political ambitions would not necessarily end if the ANC failed to retain control of the city or he lost the mayoral chain.

READ:Can Johannesburg become the country’s much-needed economic wake-up call?

He said he expected to remain in the council as an ordinary councillor, arguing that he had fulfilled the mandate given to him by the ANC:

“I have been deployed by the ANC. I have carried out the mandate as expected by my party. So I will be in council, in the position of councillor. I’ll be sitting there whenever you guys come to council.”

Coalitions must prioritise transformation

The mayor described his two years at the helm as a difficult but productive period, insisting that his administration had not run away from communities when service-delivery problems emerged.

Instead, he said, municipal officials had engaged affected residents, established community committees and worked alongside communities to find solutions.

On the prospect of another coalition government in Johannesburg, Morero argued that the size of political parties should not determine whether they can work together.

He said the willingness of coalition partners to commit to transformation and serving communities was more important than their electoral strength.

“As long as you are all committed to a particular agenda, an agenda of transformation, an agenda of service to communities,” he said.

South Africans will officially head to the polls on Wednesday, while special voting is scheduled to conclude at 5pm on Tuesday.

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