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A political expert believes that Zille could be the right person to fix Johannesburg.
DA Federal Council chairperson Helen Zille. Picture: Nigel Sibanda
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba said he is shocked by Helen Zille’s dream to become the next mayor of Johannesburg.
The DA’s federal council chairperson is considering putting her hand up to become mayor of the City of Johannesburg after next year’s local government elections.
According to weekend reports, Zille has been approached by some people in the DA who want her to take up this position.
Black excellence in the DA
In an interview with The Citizen on Sunday, Mashaba stated that this clearly shows the DA has no confidence in black leadership.
“This is deeply concerning that Helen and the DA thinks that they cannot find a single black person in this province to take over this responsibility.
“These people do not have confidence in black leaders. They have proven beyond reasonable doubt that they do not believe in black excellence,” he said.
Controversy around service delivery in townships
He said Joburg’s townships would suffer under the leadership of a DA mayor.
“These people are under the impression that South Africa can be rescued by white people.
“If she becomes mayor the people of Soweto and Alexandra can forget about getting services,” he said.
Can Zille get the numbers?
Mashaba said he does not believe that Zille will become the mayor of Johannesburg because the DA has allegedly failed to function in a coalition in Johannesburg.
“She will never the get the numbers to govern on her own and I do not see her even getting support from the black communities,” he said.
Can the ANC fix Johannesburg?
Meanwhile, ANC regional secretary Sasa Manganye said he believes the ANC is the only party that can fix the City of Johannesburg.
“Joburg has been messed up by the DA when they took over in 2016 that is when the City even started having financial problem. How will Helen fix Johannesburg. They had an opportunity to govern Joburg and they failed,” he said.
Manganye said the party hopes to retain the mayoral position beyond the 2026 local government elections.
“As the ANC we are in the right direction to fix the City and even the president is supporting our efforts in fixing the City. We will be able to put order in a number of areas and we have a number of priority, including the water issues,” he said,
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Political analyst weighs in
Theo Neethling, a political analyst from the University of Free State (UFS), says there are positive and negative aspects to Zille’s candidacy for the position of mayor in Johannesburg.
“Helen Zille has proven experience at all three levels of government and is one of the most experienced and respected politicians in South Africa.
“In my opinion, she was the most successful mayor of a metro in South Africa since 1994 and managed the city of Cape Town with great competence and efficiency.
“In 2008, she deservedly received the 2008 World Mayor Prize, which considers outstanding mayors from all over the world for the award,” he said.
Neethling said he believes Zille might be the right person to fix the dilapidated city of Johannesburg.
However, he said Zille’s ability to lead Johannesburg will depend on the DA’s performance in the upcoming municipal election.
“The DA currently stands at 26%, still behind the ANC which is at 34%, and the city will, in all likelihood, once again be governed by a coalition.
“Coalition politics in Gauteng is marked by a high degree of political turbulence, and the question is whether she would be stepping into a position that is vulnerable to potentially unstable coalition politics,” he said.
DA spokesperson, Willie Aucamp denied allegations that the party does not believe in black excellence.
“We have seen with Herman how many times he has played the race card. He has no substance left in his argument. The DA is the most diverse party in this country.
“The DA has great leaders from all races, we believe in an equal opportunity society. any person is open to apply for any position,” he said.
Aucamp said that if Zille applies for the mayoral position, she will go through the same “rigorous process” as all candidates.
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