Johannesburg mayor resigns amid coalition crossfire

JOHANNESBURG: The mayor of Johannesburg has resigned, a leading representative of the South African city´s governing coalition said on Monday, in the latest political drama to grip the country´s economic capital.

The departure of Thapelo Amad, of the small Muslim party Al Jama-ah, comes after months of wrangling and a day before he was due to face a no-confidence vote, according to reports. Panyaza Lesufi, regional chairman of the African National Congress (ANC) in the province which propped up Amad´s administration, told journalists the coalition behind Amad “accepted the resignation letter of our executive mayor” after “lengthy deliberation”.

Amad was voted in by the city council in January to replace former mayor Mpho Phalatse, a member of South Africa´s largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA). The ruling ANC, which holds the reins of power nationally, had long tried to oust a coalition led by the DA´s Phalatse. But having fallen short of an outright majority at the 2021 city elections, it needed support from smaller parties.

The election of Amad, a political outsider, came as a surprise to many -- with his rivals calling him a “clueless placeholder”. His coalition partners described his appointment as a “transitional” solution.

Fractious coalitions and short-lived mayors have been a staple of local government in South Africa in recent years owing to the country´s increasingly divided politics. The ANC first lost control of Johannesburg in 2016, having run the city since the end of white rule in 1994.

As the nation heads to a crunch general election next year, the ANC is widely expected to dip below 50 percent of the national vote as record blackouts, high unemployment and poor economic performance weigh on its popularity.