Could Helen Zille be what’s best for Joburg?

Helen Zille is unlikely to be called “diplomatic”; “arrogant” and “abrasive” describe her political style more accurately.

Yet, do we, as residents of the evolving train smash that is the city of Joburg, want hearts and flowers… or do we want someone who does the job?

That job would be the herculean task of turning around Joburg after decades of mismanagement and corruption – some of it, it must be said, emanating from the time Zille’s own DA ran the metro – and Zille has indicated she is considering running for the job of mayor.

That suggestion has had multiple DA-haters – led by the embittered ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba – crawling out of the woodwork to scream their opposition.

Mashaba is flashing his newly acquired race card with great gusto, remarking: “These people do not have confidence in black leaders. They have proven beyond reasonable doubt that they do not believe in black excellence.”

ALSO READ: Zille to the rescue: Will she save Joburg as the city’s mayor?

Not so long ago, when he was in the DA fold as mayor of the city himself, Mashaba would often pillory the ANC for playing race politics… but clearly this game changes everyone.

What Zille does have is a track record nobody else does: as mayor of Cape Town between 2006 and 2009, she helped stabilise a demoralised and under-skilled city bureaucracy brought to its knees by previous ANC rule.

That’s according to an analysis done not by a DA praise singer, but by an academic at a leading American university.

It is true that the DA is accused of neglecting black townships in Cape Town, but many of those residents are still better off than they are in ANC-run towns and cities.

Former Wits University chancellor Adam Habib said on social media that Zille would be “Johannesburg’s best hope”.

What have we got to lose – apart from our potholes?

NOW READ: ActionSA-ANC slams Zille’s plans for Joburg: ‘They do not believe in black excellence’