Zille for Joburg mayor? Hell no!

ActionSA's Mashaba has vowed to block the DA federal chair's bid

- Lunga Mzangwe

Adamant: ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba says that Democratic Alliance federal chair Helen Zille should not be mayor of Johannesburg because she does not have black people's interests at heart. Photo: ActionSA

(ActionSA)

ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has come out guns blazing against Democratic Alliance (DA) federal chair Helen Zille, who claims black people live better in areas governed by her party.

Mashaba has vowed to block Zille from becoming Joburg mayor next year, saying she did not have the interests of black people at heart.

He said that, when he was mayor of Joburg, Zille was opposed to him providing services to poor communities, claiming they did not pay taxes or vote for the party.

Zille believed that she was doing black people a favour by providing services to them, he said, and added that they would not allow Zille to be the mayor of Johannesburg.

Two months ago, Zille was announced as the party's DA mayoral candidate.

ActionSA has yet to announce its mayoral candidate for the city.

"Hell no, it's not going to happen. We are going to let the people of Johannesburg know the kind of person Helen Zille is, because Helen Zille is the kind of person that believes that, in the provision of services to black communities, she's doing us a favour," Mashaba told Mail & Guardian.

He argues that the inequalities between rich and poor in the Western Cape are there for everyone to see, saying that South Africans, black or white, cannot afford to stay in the city centre.

"Tell me, can South Africans, black and white, afford to live in Cape Town, the city centre?

"In Johannesburg, when I was the mayor, I went on a massive inner-city rejuvenation [drive], and I made it a condition that 30% of the units must be for low-income groups, and the private sector supported it.