The motion of no confidence in Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero by his coalition partners was withdrawn in council on Tuesday.

The motion was sponsored by Al Jama-ah’s Kabelo Gwamanda, representing the minority bloc. Gwamanda said he is withdrawing the motion after the intervention of coalition partners.

“We thank the PA, ATM and APC because those parties assisted us in resolving the matter as the political management committee withdrew the motion,” he said.

Gwamanda added he is happy with the level of co-operation displayed by Morero in quelling tensions.

“I would like to indicate to the council that an approach was adopted, and I am grateful that the mayor felt it important to take it upon himself to engage the affected parties. We had a window of opportunity to address the critical concerns in relation to service delivery, but the mayor at the time was unavailable, and when he was, he demonstrated that when you need something done, you do it yourself. We then took this decision.”

The minority bloc sought to oust Morero because of “a sustained breakdown of governance, administrative capture and political interference in the city’s operations”.

“Under Morero’s tenure, Johannesburg has experienced one of its most difficult periods of administrative instability and service delivery collapse. The minority governing parties [MGPs] wish to make it clear that the motion is not against the ANC or its role in the government of local unity [GLU].”

The minority grouping explained that their issue was with the mayor as an individual and not the party which deployed him.

“Our differences are not partisan; they are principled. The MGPs respect the ANC’s participation in the GLU but believe the leadership of Morero has compromised the stability and credibility of the coalition. This motion seeks to change the mayor, not to break the coalition.”

The council has broken for a comfort break and is expected to resume with section 79 committee reports afterwards.