President Cyril Ramaphosa has described Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero’s heated exchange with a resident as “completely unacceptable”, but said the ANC had accepted his apology and hoped residents would also do so.
Ramaphosa was speaking on the sidelines of an ANC campaign in Orange Farm, Gauteng, on Sunday, following the backlash against Morero after he confronted a resident during a community meeting in Tshepisong last week.
Morero confronted resident during electricity meeting
Morero was attending a City Power electricity imbizo in the area on Thursday when he became involved in a heated exchange with a resident who called him a criminal.
The mayor responded by defending himself against the accusation before telling the resident not to repeat it.
“Don’t call me a criminal, I am not a criminal. Don’t ever do that again. Don’t ever do that. You are old. You are talking sh**t!” Morero said.
The confrontation was captured on video and circulated on social media, drawing criticism of the mayor’s conduct.
The exchange came during a meeting focused on electricity challenges in Tshepisong, where residents have raised concerns about ongoing power problems.
Morero later apologised for his conduct, saying he took full responsibility for his remarks.
The mayor said the incident should not have unfolded in the manner it did and apologised for his utterances.
Ramaphosa: ‘It has not been damage control’
Ramaphosa said the ANC regarded Morero’s remarks as unacceptable, but had accepted the mayor’s public apology.
“Our mayor did make an utterance which we find completely unacceptable, but he has apologised. He has gone public and apologised, and we as the ANC have taken him up on that, and I do hope that our people also will be able to accept the apology that he has given,” Ramaphosa said.
He rejected suggestions that the ANC’s campaign in the area amounted to an attempt to carry out damage control following the controversy.
“It has not been damage control. Our people here did not even raise the issue. Not a single one raised the issue,” Ramaphosa said.
According to Ramaphosa, residents had instead focused on their expectations of the ANC’s councillors and the mayor.
“They have only spoken in a way where they say: We want councillors to work well for us. They want their mayor to execute the manifesto of the ANC. That is about the sum total of what they said regarding that incident,” he said.
Ramaphosa says ANC will move forward
Ramaphosa said the ANC would move forward, acknowledging that mistakes and missteps could happen during election campaigns.
“So we move ahead, and in any campaign there will always be mishaps. There will be missteps, and we are people, and we will always make mistakes,” he said.
He said what mattered was whether politicians were willing to acknowledge their mistakes and apologise.
“The important thing is whether we humble ourselves enough to be able to say: We apologise,” Ramaphosa said.
He said Morero’s comments should not be viewed as representative of the ANC and its values.
“This does not represent who we are, because what he said does not represent in any way what the ANC is and what the ANC stands for,” Ramaphosa said.
