Joburg hungers for a leader

DA federal chair Helen Zille takes no prisoners and is the only person who has the ability to sort out Joburg's problems.

- Brendan Seery

One of the most interesting newspaper opinion pieces I have read in a while was authored by outspoken left-leaning political analyst and former trade unionist Ebrahim Harvey in the Sunday Times.

He wrote that, while he abhors much of what the DA stands for and has criticisms in particular of its federal chair, Helen Zille, “I wholeheartedly support her for the crucially important position of mayor of Johannesburg”.

In a later letter to the paper, he lamented the stick he had taken from some comrades who clearly think he either lost his mind, or sold out to capital.

Yet, he was ahead of the tide... because even President Cyril Ramaphosa made the extraordinary public admission that he is hurt deeply by the fact that it is DA municipalities which are the best run in the country.

He went as far as saying ANC councillors should look to these DA-run cities and town to see how things should be done.