City of Joburg and its mayor Dada Morero have dismissed allegations suggesting that influencers were paid to promote him after posts that circulated on X praising him for being a “hard worker” when he opened a clinic in Soweto.
Morero opened Naledi Clinic on Wednesday and one post by @KatapillaK read: “Dada Morero is that minister that gets apppinted (sic) and puts in the work. This work is beautiful.”
Another X user, @qwabe_irvin said: “Joburg residents deserve efficient service delivery, and that’s exactly what Mayor Dada Morero is committed to. A city that works for its people!”
These posts, however, were met with outrage by people who criticised Morero, saying instead of putting in the work and getting praise from the people satisfied with his work, he was paying people to praise him.
“Dada Morero should be investigated for paying for promo instead of service delivery,” wrote @EphraimSbudda.
Others also revealed that @KatapillaK is not a Joburg resident and lives in Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal.
City spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane sent out a statement saying they had not engaged influencers to “amplify” the mayor’s initiatives or highlight his work.
“First and foremost, the insinuations suggesting that the City of Johannesburg has commissioned a social media influencer campaign are wholly incorrect and the city wishes to distance itself from any posts that suggest otherwise. We can categorically state that the city and mayor has not engaged any influencers, nor has it initiated any paid campaigns on X (formerly Twitter) or any other social media platform to amplify the mayor’s initiatives or highlight his work
“The executive mayor, councillor Dada Morero ,is primarily focused on enhancing service delivery to the residents of Johannesburg. His administration is committed to transparency and community engagement, utilising the city’s official communication channels to share important information and updates directly with the public,” said Modingoane.
SowetanLIVE
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