City of Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba on Monday resigned, effective November 27, saying he was being forced to choose between the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the country.

His resignation comes after the weekend election of Helen Zille as the DA’s federal council chairperson.

Mashaba recently threatened to leave the DA if “right wing elements” took over the party.

Mashaba said he has initially joined the DA as he could not watch the country being destroyed by the corruption, failure and arrogance of the African National Congress (ANC).

He said he had accepted the Mayoral nomination out of a deep desire to save the country and said part of his acceptance of the position was his belief in DA leader Mmusi Maimane’s vision of One South Africa for All.

“I had no political aspirations at the time and have subsequently turned down numerous requests to stand for leadership positions in the DA. My decision to stand as a Mayoral candidate was not motivated by desire to hold political office but out of a desire to serve the residents of Johannesburg and to get our city working again, “said Mashaba.

He said he was concerned that the party he had signed up to was no longer the same one that emerged from the weekend’s Federal Council meeting.

“The DA no longer represents a party that is able to achieve what I desire most – a movement that can save South Africa, unseat the ANC and deliver One South Africa For All. Without this, I am deeply concerned for the future of South African politics,” Mashaba said.

COALITION GOVERNANCE

Without mincing his words, Mashaba said he believed that coalitions are the future of South African politics and revealed that the DA had taken a resolution during its weekend meeting to question the role of the party in the governance relationship Mashaba was in.

Mashaba said there were expressions by a number party representatives that “such arrangements” were undermining the party’s message and were a reason for the party’s electoral decline.

“I regard this to be the worst kind of short sighted thinking, even by the very low bar set in recent times. This position includes no perspective of the residents of Johannesburg and what they want for the city. This has simply been ignored,” he said.

A visibly angry Mashaba went on to say that for a political party to back away from its coalition eighteen months before the local government election that will invariably produce more coalitions, is tantamount to declaring itself to be unsuitable for the future of the country.

“The election of Helen Zille as Chairperson of Federal Council represents a victory for people in the DA who stand diametrically opposed to my beliefs and value system and I believe for most South Africans from all backgrounds. I cannot reconcile myself with a group of people who believe that race is irrelevant in the discussion of inequality and poverty in South Africa in 2019. I cannot reconcile myself with the people who do not see that South Africa is more unequal today than it was in 1994,” he stated.

He added that he could not reconcile himself with people who failed to realise that they have a patriotic duty to unseat the ANC and save the country.

“With this grouping of people succeeding in their effort to take over the DA, I have no doubt whatsoever that they will move to collapse this governance arrangements,” Mashaba emphasized.

He went on to reveal that some members of the DA caucus in the City want to prioritise the needs of suburban residents over those who are still living the effects of apartheid.

“From the very first day I took office this coalition has been undermined, criticised and rendered nearly impossible. In every way, the DA has been the most difficult partner in this arrangement. Despite the DA only winning 38% of the vote in 2016, some elements in the party have expected me to govern arrogantly as if I have an outright majority,” Mashaba revealed. 

He said he has had to deal with people who draw the artificial distinctions between service delivery in informal settlements and suburbs as a binary, either-or-type-approach.  

“I have had to deal with individuals who would rather spend more time on cutting grass than on fixing our broken and aging infrastructure which threatens disaster in our city. I had to deal with people who do not want me to implement the programme that has benefitted more than 7 000 families because it was not DA policy. My response to the DA was, ‘then make it your policy’. Unfortunately it is these individuals who have triumphed at yesterday’s Federal Council meeting. That is why I have no doubt whatsoever that the collapse of these governance arrangements is a foregone conclusion,” he declared.

He said the DA’s Federal Council meeting left him at a crossroad, adding that as a patriot he would always choose the country.

LEGACY

Mashaba boasted that he was leaving the city in a healthier financial position than he found it when he took over.

He said at the end of the financial year the City had R5.3-billion in cash reserves in a sinking fund valued at R2.7-billion. This translates into 43 days worth of cash coverage – double the previous financial year.

Mashaba said serving as the mayor of Johannesburg has been the toughest job anyone can possibly undertake but also said it has been the greatest honour of his life.

He said he would leave with his head high knowing that he has worked hard for the City and also thanked the coalition partners, including the Economic Freedom Fighters, for their dedication.  

“YOU ARE A HERO”

DA leader Mmusi Maimane thanked Mashaba for his service as Mayor and said the City of Johannesburg was in a better place today than it was under the ANC.

“I as someone who grew up in Dobsonville in Soweto and a resident of Johannesburg have watched with great interest to see the developments that have taken place in the city and never have I ever been prouder that as a child who grew up under this apartheid city in the 80s I could one day watch it being led in liberal, democratic manner by the party and by Herman Mashaba. It is the hope and dream that we worked towards and sought to advance,” said Maimane.

He went on to assert the party’s commitment to coalitions and said the DA would continue to maintain the coalition agreements as they are.

He thanked Mashaba for driving the ambition to serve the country.

“I know you will be taking some time out in the next while to reflect as to what the next journey will look like and our paths will continue to charter a journey of building one South Africa. You are a hero, you are a hero to me,” he ended.