ANC GREATER JOHANNESBURG REGION CHAIRPERSON DADA SELLO MORERO

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ANC GREATER JOHANNESBURG REGION CHAIRPERSON DADA SELLO MORERO

The foundations of the African National Congress (ANC) are rooted in our belief system. It is by no accident that the ANC was founded in a holy place guided by the wisdom of our maker. Our freedom united us as a people. Firm grip on the spear, helped us to protect our vulnerable women and children. Voices from communities, called for liberation. 

Those who were educated used pen and paper. Those who had a direct line to God used prayer to give us strength just to survive a day. Ordinary individuals used their voices to spread the word of liberation.  113 years of liberation echoing in our minds and this is what brings us here to today. In 1911, Pixley ka Isaka Seme called on Africans to forget their differences of the past and unite together in one national organisation. He said:  “We are one people. These divisions, these jealousies, are the  cause of all our woes today.” COMRADE CHAIR OF THE SESSION  Let us start our conference in prayer. As I recognise the moment of silent, let us invite the all mighty into our presences. These walls must be laced with prayer. 

History failed to document that exact prayer that was stated during the formation of the ANC in 1912. However, history tells us that  the ANC's origins are deeply intertwined with Christian values and religious rhetoric, and prayer has always been an integral part of its history and gatherings.  

We all know that our leaders at the time were primarily educated Christians who believed in using their faith as a moral compass for political action and unity. As they practice their religion, we were informed that underlying sentiments of their prayer were: Seeking divine guidance for the new organisation and the nation. 2. 3. 4. Praying for unity among the diverse African people, who were separated by colonial rule and tribal differences. Requesting strength and wisdom for the leaders to lead the people out of oppression and "race hatred". Expressing hope for justice, freedom, peace, and the establishment of a righteous society in South Africa. 

As the ANC evolved, gatherings and conferences often included formal prayers for unity, moral guidance, and the well-being of the nation. This tradition continues till today. For us today, Philippians 4 verse 6 to 7 may be relevant: "Le se ke la belaella selo; empa nthong tsohle seo le se batlang, le ke le se tsebise Modimo ka thapelo le ka kopo e nang le teboho. Mme kgotso ya Modimo, e fetisang kutlwisiso yohle, e tla boloka dipelo tsa lona le mehopolo ya lona ho Jesu Kreste." This translates to: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus". 

Members of National Executive Committee Secretary General of the ANC, thank you for your leadership Members Provincial Task Team Members of the Regional Task Team Alliance partners Leagues of the ANC Branch Delegates Distinguish Guests Comrades and friends Dumelang... Today, we are doing things differently. Why? 

Because you elected this regional leadership and as the leader of society, we have a responsibility to take Johannesburg to the next level. This political address recognises the road the we have travelled. It may or may not be my last speech, but it will be the address that reflects our mistakes, our collective understanding of our challenges, solutions we have tested and most importantly, taking Johannesburg to its former glory. 1886, gold rushed through the streets of Johannesburg. Such discovery brought misery and joy to the people of Johannesburg. Black people were oppressed, whilst white people entered the land of milk and honey. 

The battle of naming Johannesburg began. There were four contenders, two named Johannes (Joubert and Kruger) and two Johanns (Rissik and Meyer). Since we are all about evidence base thinking, Die Vaderland released an article stating that Johannesburg was named after Johann Rissik. This is captured in the departmental note. 

This is the only piece of written evidence we have. Maybe it is time we re-write history and rename Johannesburg. A battle of individuals brought us here. This is not who we are. We are a people of: 1. firsts 2. love 3. peace 4. joy 5. happiness Thats who we are! 

We are living our dream. Our forefathers and mothers fought for freedom. We are living this dream. Our leaders fought for the integration of Johannesburg. Today we are integrated. We are living this dream. Joburgers wanted a clean Jozi. Joburg is becoming clean. People of Johannesburg wanted law and order and there is order. 

We hosted world leaders and the world right here in Johannesburg. Indeed we are living the dream. Should we wake up from this dream? I don't know... What we know is that the G20 South Africa Summit: Leaders’ Declaration recognises Johannesburg. It begins by saying: " We, Leaders of the G20, who gathered in Johannesburg, South Africa, for this historic first Summit on the African Continent under the South African G20 Presidency, on 22 and 23 November 2025, addressed major global challenges and discussed ways to promote solidarity, equality and sustainability as key pillars of inclusive growth." It further states that: "We welcome the commitments to the 8th Replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, jointly launched in Johannesburg by South Africa and the United Kingdom, as a vital source of international multilateral funding to combat infectious diseases and strengthen sustainable health systems, and a proven model to foster our global health security." 

Close to the conclusion it states: "We applaud the decision to convene the G20 Social Summit in Johannesburg, an initiative that provided non-government stakeholders a unique opportunity to voice their views on fundamental issues of the international agenda. We welcome the approach undertaken by the South African G20 Presidency to continue to integrate the work of the engagement groups. We acknowledge that strengthening partnerships and expanding dialogue with a wide range of actors is important to collectively shape the G20’s approach to issues requiring international cooperation." 

 The politics of the G20 were centred around the declaration. True to our cause we watched our President, comrade Cyril Ramaphosa rise to the occasion, navigating through world powers, carrying the African flame and showing the world that we are made of greatness and we shall not be bullied. This was our moment of truth, courage and reconciliation. It feels good to be South African. It feels great to be African. We are a nation living our dream. Please don’t pinch us or wake us up, we are fine! Those who grew up in the ANC, will tell us to apply our tools of analysis in responding to the international and domestic balance of forces. From this angle we can safely say the international balance of forces is in our favour and that South Africa is resetting geopolitics of the world. Whilst the super powers are struggling to unite, we united them with our spirit of ubuntu. 

Understanding the alignment of the balance of forces in an evolving ideological and global geo-political environment in which there are competing political and socio-economic interests is a fundamental prerequisite in the formulation of strategy and tactics. 

This exercise is a function of the dynamic interplay within a variety of objective and subjective factors – power dynamics and competing interests. The demise of the apartheid regime in 1994 ushered in the victory of the democratic forces led by the ANC – but the old and dying system of apartheid continued to resist the birth of the new democratic dispensation. At the time the Strategy and Tactics document of the ANC in 1997 made the point that - “the balance of forces both within South Africa and internationally is such that these interests can be subverted by capitalism`s rapacious license. 

In this sense therefore, the basic framework of our democratic achievement in South Africa is irreversible: but it can be derailed, leaving us with a shell of political rights without real social content.” Fast forward to the present period – once again we bear witness to the rise of a plethora of right wing and anti-democratic forces whose sole objective is the destruction of the ANC and undermine as well as misrepresent the aims and objectives of the National Democratic Revolution. CHAIR OF THE SESSION, We are facing many challenges. As guided by the NEC, our challenges are systematic, structural and financial. Systematic meaning, we are constantly experiencing operational inefficiencies. Which refers to delays in infrastructure projects, service delivery backlogs, and underfunded mandates that have compromised the quality of services rendered to residents. 

Secondly our structural challenges are linked to our governance challenges. There are persistent issues in accountability frameworks, oversight mechanisms, and leadership efficacy have impeded effective decision-making and policy implementation. Lastly, we are struggling to overcome the financial instability caused by the purple coalition. Slowly but surely, we are getting it right. 

 Since 2016, there is a visible decline in revenue collection efficiency, coupled with escalating debt levels and unauthorized expenditures, this has strained the City's fiscal health. We have said this before and we are saying this again today. Our challenges are complex and they need complex solutions. This 16th Regional Conference must internalise these challenges. 

You have a responsibility to give us leaders who can handle these challenges and deliver results. The world is watching. Our women and children are watching. Gender base violence, must STOP. This is indeed a national crisis. We must fight it with the same vigour we used when fighting against apartheid oppression. We used every means possible at our disposal. 

 The 5 pillars of the ANC strategy have evolved over the years. It is important we go back to the original pillars: mass mobilisation; armed struggle; underground organization and international solidarity. The creation of the Bomb Squad is a direct effort to respond to the mass mobilisation pilar, which aimed at mobilising communities to take charge of their own development.  

The Bomb Squad is our eyes and ears. The gap between us the community is minimised because the Bomb Squad has narrowed the gap. This team of volunteers are our support mechanism. It is not an advisory structure and we are pleased that they are working well with the administration. Cde Jackson Mthembu, may his soul rest in peace, was one of our finest communicator. We knew him as the comrade that won many key aerial battles for our movement. As we observe the many WhatsApp and/or Facebook messages, we realise that comrades are restricting comrades from implementing the aerial battle and in the process oppressing freedom of speech. A right we fought for. For us the aerial is about promoting the ANC and discrediting opposition parties. This is a battle of ideas and communication, not actual military combat. We used this strategy and tactic from 2016 and it helped us to regain power in 2019.

The task is to spread the word about the good work the ANC is doing. In a day we must each post 100 messages so that we can reach 5.8 million people living in Johannesburg. TO OUR BRANCHES Remember that numbers don’t lie. Tell them that StatSA says: A. Our GDP growth rate is 2.7% B. 89.8% of Joburgers have access to formal dwellings. C. 98.3% of Jobugers have access to water. D. 94.1% of Joburgers have access to electricity. E. Our sanitation services reach 93% of Joburgers. F. Refuse removal is experienced by 90.5% of Joburgers. 

Conference delegates, please pick the right leadership and very soon these numbers will be 100%. COMRADES, We need to have a honest discussion about dealing with the reality of managing coalition politics. The NEC is managing this discussion, and we should be thankful to Cde David Makhura and his task team members for help us to navigate this arrangement. 

After the 2024 national and provincial elections they informed us that: 

1. The ANC share of the vote has been reducing at both the national and local level since 2004 and 2006, respectively. 

2. The National vote peaked at 69.7% in 2004 and has been reducing steadily since then. 3. The local government vote peaked at 64.8% in 2006 and has been reducing since then. 

The first local government elections (LGEs) produced 29 hung councils. This increased to 31 (including the City of Cape Town) in the 2006 LGEs, before peaking to 37 hung councils in the 2011 elections. The 2016 LGEs produced the least (27) hung councils. 2021 LGE resulted in 81 hung councils. 

4. Despite the reduction, the ANC has always performed better during National and Provincial Elections compared to local government. Politics of coalition is not living our dream. We must find a way to win back the hearts and minds of our communities so that they can fall in love with us again and we can go back to position of strength. 

Growing the economy of Johannesburg is a non-negotiable. We are the heartbeat of Africa. This 16th Regional Conference must reflect on what it means to be the 43.99 percent of Gauteng Province's GDP, which totalled R 2.37 trillion; and 14.97 percent to the GDP of South Africa, which had a total GDP of R 6.97 trillion in 2023. These are numbers of hope. As guided by our north star, our Growth and Development Strategy (GDS), Joburg 2040, we must continue creating an economic environment that is inclusive and demonstrates the aspiration of our residents. 

Everything we do must maintain our coproduction model. It is about the choices we make. Conference must choose local economic growth that is able to:

1. create sustainable jobs 

2. grow SMMEs 

3. grow the township economy 

4. encourage co-operatives 

5. ensure that industrialisation and reindustrialisation takes place. Mariana Mazzucato in her book titled mission economy, makes a sound argument that "markets are not outcomes of individuals decision making, but of how each value- creating actor is governed- including government itself. In this sense, markets are 'embedded' in rules, norms and contracts affecting organisational behaviour, interactions and institutional designs. 

Government cannot limit its self to reactively fixing markets but explicitly co-shape market to deliver the outcomes society needs." The decision made by this conference, must shape Joburg economy we want to see and live in.  

TO THE OUTGOING REGIONAL LEADERSHIP, When we were elected on the 5th of June 2022, at a place called Idle Winds conference, we were handed over with a report that demonstrated the strength of Region. 

This report stated: • 135 potential branches • 128 audited branches • 120 branches in good standing • 134 branches with membership more than 100 but not in good standing • 1 branches with less than 100 membership • 134 branches which have a membership above 100 and qualify to hold BBGM/BGM • 19 701 total membership in good standing We were given a functional Region that was implementing a bold Programme of Action focused on: 1. Recovering majority political control of the city. 2. Repositioning the ANC as the centre of society. 3. Wining back the city. How far are we and what have we done?  

This question we leave it to the Regional Coordinator to answer. As we reflect on progress thus far, we must look at the resolution taken during the 15th Regional Conference. For instance we debated and deliberated on our organisational and renewal commitments. 

We were clear that unity, renewal and rebuilding of the ANC in Greater Johannesburg remains the foremost and fundamental mission for members of the ANC, particularly following the humbling experiences of 2019 Provincial and National Elections as well as the 2021 Local Government Elections. One of the areas we resolved was on leadership contestation. 

We collectively stated the following: "The ANC in Johannesburg recommits itself collectively to organisational unity and common purpose to ensure renewal and rebuilding our movement. To this end, if we do not change the course that is leading us down the cliff, we will derail the transformation of society and liberation of our people." 

TO ALLIANCE PARTNERS We have maintained our relations and we should never allow this relationship to break. During the Morogoro conference, 25 April to 1 May 1969, Oliver Tambo closed conference with the following words "close rank". Bring this message closer to home we call on our alliance partners to close rank and focus on building a national democratic society. Our relationships with organised labour is at a critical stage. As we try to deal with the elephant in the room known as the "political facilitate agreement" we must recognise the good work that you are doing in the City. We are now at the stage, we have a signed agreement with labour. What is left is to implement the phases of the PFA.  

Recently I read a media article which disturb my thought process. Please allow me to demonstrate my pain. I would like everyone to open their envelop that was distributed to them. Take out what you see and think carefully about what you are holding in your hands. COMRADES This is the root of all our problems in the ANC. Society can see it and we all know how disruptive money can be. You can view this money as a bribe or as a gift. Whichever way, today we must say not in our name. Being bought for a vote means your participated in a transactional agreement that is not progressive nor developmental.

If this is not you, you will return the money. If this is you, enjoy the money and we hope you sleep well at night. Remember our resolution, " if we do not change the course that is leading us down the cliff, we will derail the transformation of society and liberation of our people." Which path are you choosing, money or the National Democratic Revolution? 

TO OUR LEADERSHIP From the 13th to 14th September 2025, our SG called all ANC councillors to the Special NEC meeting on local government. During this meeting we pledged to do more and better as we move forward. 

This means: 1. A pledge to do and be better. 2. A pledge to deploy honest and competent local leaders. 3. A pledge to deploy action-orientated men and women who are committed to service delivery. 4. A pledge to rebuild safer and healthier communities. 5. A pledge to stimulate local economies. 6. A pledge to be available to our people.  

7. A pledge to listen to and have open channels of communication. 8. A pledge to remain accountable. 9. A pledge to form and sustain working partnerships with communities; civic, religious and all community organisations; NGOs and the private sector to benefit local communities. 10. A pledge to spare no effort in rooting out corruption and all forms of nepotism and malfeasance in our organisation and all levels of government. 

This is our pledge. Every point will be implemented. Where we faulter, please hold us accountable. 

TO THE OUTGOING REGIONAL TASK TEAM Our journey was not easy. You played your part and demonstrated that Johannesburg is the place we call home. It is our first love. The people of Johannesburg are telling us about the Joburg they want. We are listening and we will continue to listen. Never forget we are living our dream. We must continue to spread our wings and take Johannesburg to next level. Never forget, we are not alone. We rise on shoulders of greatness. 

We are walking this journey with ancestors. Those who have departed from this place called earth, we recognise you, we hear you and we thank you for your spiritual guidance. Amandla Baba thina sinjena Baba thina sinjena 

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