Zille fires back at Mashaba: He has no political or moral compass

Helen Zille, Chairperson of the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Federal Council, has hit back at allegations made by former Johannesburg mayor, Herman Mashaba, in his new book, The Accidental Mayor.

Mashaba’s rise from prominent businessman to political powerhouse at the helm of South Africa’s largest and wealthiest city has been chronicled by Michael Beaumont, who served as the mayor’s Chief of Staff during a particularly tumultuous period between 2016 and 2019. The Accidental Mayor, a first-hand account of Mashaba’s trials and tribulations in the battle for Johannesburg, has been met with mixed reactions.

Mashaba’s tenure as mayor of Johannesburg, although short-lived, exemplified complexities of the political battlefield, coinciding with the DA’s rise to power in major Gauteng metros and, similarly, a decline in support for the African National Congress (ANC) which had ruled the roost since 1994.

Herman Mashaba: The Accidental Mayor

It was, however, Mashaba’s attempts to pacify political infighting within the unsteady coalition government — personified by pragmatic dealings with kingmakers, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) — which proved to be a pressure to severe to bear.

On 21 October 2019, Herman Mashaba announced his resignation as Executive Mayor of Johannesburg.

Citing irreconcilable differences with his party, Mashaba argued that the DA had moved away from its core principles; principles and values which initially attracted the businessman into the political fray. Mashaba took direct aim at Zille, who had recently made her controversial re-entrance into the DA’s executive following a period of protracted silence. Mashaba said:

“The election of Helen Zille as the 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 those of most South Africans of 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.”

Mashaba resignation coincided with the DA’s leadership exodus, with party leader, Mmusi Maimane and Federal Chair, Athol Trollip, standing down just days later.

‘Mashaba’s tenure not just an accident but a car crash’ – Zille

In addition to detailing the renovation of a collapsed Johannesburg metro, The Accidental Mayor delves into the gritty political details of coalition governance with the EFF and the subsequent isolation, from the DA, as a result of ‘sleeping with the enemy’.

In the book, Mashaba expands on his criticism of the DA and Helen Zille, in particular. Mashaba, whose relationship with Zille, which was once friendly and amicable, soured deeply in the weeks leading up to his resignation, claims that the Chairperson of the Federal Council sought to rewrite the party’s founding principles of liberalism and push the DA further to the right of the political spectrum.

Zille has since hit back at these claims, issuing her own scathing report of Mashaba’s tenure in response to an interview with Beaumont on Carte Blanche which aired on Sunday night. Zille replied:

“… Herman Mashaba’s Chief of Staff, Michael Beaumont, has titled his literary debut ‘The Accidental Mayor’. But, in the end, Mashaba’s short stint as Johannesburg’s Mayor wasn’t just an accident, it turned out to be a car crash.”

Zille added that it was no surprise that Beaumont was chosen to pen the Mashaba’s memoir, alleging that the Chief of Staff had profited from political patronage afforded by the mayor’s office. Zille said:

“His [Beaumont’s] loyalty to his boss is well known. This symbiotic relationship has served Beaumont well over the years, such as when Mayor Mashaba unilaterally hiked Beaumont’s ratepayer-funded salary by half a million rand to R1,8 million per annum.

This caused such an uproar at the time, that Mashaba later had to reverse the decision.

One decision that wasn’t reversed was Mashaba’s sanctioning of a council-funded personal smoking balcony for Beaumont.”

Sleeping with the enemy

Zille went on to detail the ‘grievous mistake’ of electing Mashaba to lead Johannesburg at a pivotal political moment. Zille admitted that Mashaba failed to transition from businessman to mayor and would’ve been better off beginning his political tenure as a councillor or MP.

Of all the points picked apart by Zille, Mashaba’s cosiness with the EFF drew the most ire. In attempting to keep the peace within Johannesburg’s uneasy coalition government, Mashaba afforded the EFF attention which was regarded as short-sighted and politically flawed. Zille has described this relationship as a ‘betrayal’, saying:

“It was well known in Johannesburg council circles that Mashaba took more notice of the EFF caucus than his own.  Colleagues tell me that he would arrive at DA caucus meetings, make long, self-glorifying speeches, announce that he had reached an agreement with the EFF, and then instruct the DA councillors to vote accordingly.

It was hardly surprising that he was soon referred to in the DA caucus as the EFF’s Mayor. And, true to form, when he resigned, Mashaba made a point of saying goodbye to the EFF caucus, but not to the DA one.

This was Mashaba’s first great betrayal: voters who voted for the DA soon discovered they had elected a mayor who let the EFF call the shots so that he could stay in power. Whether it was staff appointments, tenders, in-sourcing and even disciplinary matters – Mashaba spent three years in office marching to the beat of the EFF’s drum.”

‘Mashaba has no moral compass either’ – Zille

Zille added that personal attacks against her had been motivated by former DA ‘strategists’ — including Beaumont — who hoped that the vitriol would cast a shadow on the Chairperson of the Federal Council’s character and increase the book’s profitability. Zille noted:

“If previews of Mashaba’s new book are anything to go by, they seem to think that targeting me is the ticket back to the Mayor’s office in 2021. Back to the good old days of inflated salaries in the mayor’s office, private smoking balconies and access to VIP vehicles and security.

It was no doubt on their advice that Mashaba chose to attack me in his theatrical resignation on 21 October 2019. I must admit that I was taken aback when, in his resignation speech, he said that my election as Chairperson of the DA’s Federal Council was a ‘victory for people in the DA who stand diametrically opposed to [his] beliefs and value system’.

This came as a surprise because, just six months previously, in March 2019, Mashaba had tweeted: ‘In all the years I have known Helen Zille, including reading extensively about her beautiful life, anyone calling her racist is actually racist herself/himself.  Helen is one those SA (sic) I personally hold with the highest esteem. I am proud of her as my fellow SA. Period.’

This dramatic about-turn was final confirmation that Mashaba is a man devoid of principle.  While many of us had always known that Mashaba didn’t have much of a political compass, it had become progressively clear he had no moral compass either.”

Zille added that she had ‘nothing to do with’ any DA decision-making during Mashaba’s tenure as Johannesburg mayor.