South Africa

Politics, South Africa

Battleground Metros: Wave of DA mayors set to include Herman Mashaba in Johannesburg

Battleground Metros: Wave of DA mayors set to include Herman Mashaba in Johannesburg

Key metros across the country, hung after the local government elections, are starting to take shape. On Thursday, the DA’s Athol Trollip was elected mayor in Nelson Mandela Bay, Lynn Pannall was sworn in Mogale City and on Friday the party’s Solly Msimanga is set to be elected in Tshwane. The EFF’s request to the DA to replace mayoral candidate Herman Mashaba in Johannesburg has been watered down, so opposition parties will lead in all of the major election battlegrounds. By GREG NICOLSON.

During the DA’s press conference with coalition partners COPE, UDM, ACDP and Freedom Front Plus, it emerged that the EFF had attached a condition to its decision to elect a DA leader in the city. The Fighters didn’t want Herman Mashaba, the DA’s mayoral candidate, to be that leader. Mmusi Maimane said the electorate needed to be respected and his party would follow through on the promise it had made that Mashaba would be its candidate, even if it meant losing the EFF’s 11.09% and letting the ANC keep the city. There was a possibility of the ANC retaining Johannesburg through a minority government.

The DA’s hopes of governing the country’s biggest metro and economic hub appear to have been saved by the EFF’s decision to choose between the lesser of “two devils”. Malema has attacked Mashaba, claiming he hates black people and wants to be white, and the EFF has taken issue with the former Free Market Foundation leader’s claims that poor people cannot be expected to be leaders. Speaking to Talk Radio 702 on Thursday, EFF National Chairman Dali Mpofu said, “Maybe he might have a chance to clarify [his comments] or satisfy us that our fears are unfounded but right now we are quite wary of of having somebody with those backward views being in charge of the economic hub of the country.”

If the DA was worried that the EFF might abstain from voting for council leaders in Johannesburg, it didn’t show. Maimane backed Mashaba as soon as the issue was raised publicly. On Thursday, also on 702, the mayoral candidate said he had spoken to his party leader that morning.

The decision is made,” Mashaba said. “[Maimane] said, ‘Herman, please, don’t even entertain the idea of moving. We’d really let the party down. You’re the man we put in front to be the mayoral candidate. People of Johannesburg gave us a resounding vote, making us the biggest growing political party in Johannesburg. Therefore you thinking of moving would really be letting our people down.’”

Mashaba announced that he would follow the party line and step aside if requested by the DA. DA Federal Executive Chairman James Selfe, who has led negotiations with other opposition parties, wasn’t available to say whether he planned to discuss the condition further with the EFF. DA Joburg caucus leader Vasco da Gama said he thinks the time for resolving issues has passed as the DA has already met and agreed on principles with other parties. “I don’t think there’s anything that could stop this,” he said on the DA nominating Mashaba as executive mayor.

Two of the DA’s coalition partners, COPE and UDM, were more cautious. UDM leader Bantu Holomisa said he had informally advised the DA to keep engaging the EFF. “My prayer is that the EFF and DA would find each other. We have encouraged them to say keep on talking,” he said. Holomisa was optimistic, given the EFF and Mashaba appear to have been reasonably mature in handling the matter, but said the parties should meet and discuss various options.

COPE spokesman Dennis Bloem said he hopes the issue is resolved before the council votes on Monday. “The DA must go back and consider what the EFF is putting on the table,” he said, noting the EFF did not want positions for its support. “It’s not helpful to just reject their view outright. Go and sit and consider and try to resolve this issue.” He urged the DA not to take the EFF for granted.

Fortunately for the DA, Malema has said his party’s objection to Mashaba is not a fundamental issue and the EFF appears likely to support Mashaba’s election in order to ensure the ANC does not retain the city. “The DA knows what we think of their mayor. We will still give them the vote because Herman, it’s a small thing. We are dealing with big issues here and the big elephant in the room is the ANC. We are not going to be sidetracked by small differences on Herman,” Malema told Power FM. Malema has said it would be cowardly to abstain from voting in hung councils and the EFF needs to ensure service delivery continues.

Asked about the prospect of the EFF supporting Mashaba for mayor and then using its important minority vote to hinder his council’s work, Da Gama was not concerned, saying the DA and EFF can work together. “We can overcome everything,” he said. Holomisa said the EFF would only support the DA after fully discussing the issues and it wouldn’t make sense for it to later turn on Mashaba.

The EFF on Friday is set to support the DA’s Solly Msimanga, who Malema described as “genuine”, to become mayor of Tshwane. A coalition, which did not include the EFF, on Thursday elected the DA’s Athol Trollip to lead Nelson Mandela Bay. Trollip reiterated his commitment to fight corruption, create jobs and deliver better services.

This is an incredibly exciting time in our political history as we begin a new phase of multiparty endeavour to free ourselves from the impact of decades-long maladministration and corruption that have bequeathed us with record unemployment and poverty,” he said in his first address as mayor.

The DA also managed to take the mayorship in Mogale City, with support from its coalition partners, the EFF and IFP. While DA’s Lynn Pannall was sworn in as executive mayor, the ANC managed to snatch a speaker’s position, even as the IFP denied claims it voted against the DA for the position of speaker after the ANC took the post. The DA has previously agreed to support the IFP in hung KwaZulu-Natal councils in exchange for their votes in other municipalities.

In another large metro where no party won an outright majority, Ekurhuleni’s inaugural council meeting has been postponed to Tuesday. ANC candidate Mzwandile Masina is likely to become mayor, but an agreement with the AIC is reportedly still being ironed out. The DA could only take the council with the support of all its coalition partners, the EFF and possibly the AIC. DM

Photo: Johannesburg current executive mayor Parks Tau and his likely successor, Herman Mashaba, debated at Daily Maverick’s The Gathering, 11 June 2016. (Greg Nicolson)

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