Mashaba will be as much a menace to the DA as the EFF will be, if the DA is drinking champagne into the night after the council voting outcomes, then it clearly isn’t thinking straight, writes Eusebius McKaiser.
Mayors do not have the kind of executive powers, or magic wands, that can enable them to ignore those who helped them win mayoral races in the absence of a clear majority of votes from their own parties. It is, actually, unclear whether Phalatse should go to bed with a smile on her face or with trepidation about how things will go the morning after.
This voting outcome achieves both because the EFF is inevitably going to be very obstructive in council. They have no interest in assisting the DA to run Johannesburg effectively. They will relish the opportunity to have residents of the metro get frustrated with the municipality and then sell that narrative as evidence of DA ineptitude.
He has described them as dishonest and effectively vowed to take political revenge. Just watching him react on Monday evening to how it all played out, you see in his eyes and hear in his voice the rage of a hypermasculine, hyper competitive type-A personality. The real problem is that the lack of political maturity within our body politic means that all the hung councils are likely to be unstable. From Nelson Mandela Bay to Johannesburg and elsewhere, agreements are flimsy. They are not driven by a desire to put residents first. They are threadbare agreements based on deep mutual suspicion.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Mashaba pulls out of race to be mayor of Joburg, giving DA the edgeActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has pulled out of the Johannesburg mayoral race, giving the DA the upper hand against the ANC.
Read more »
Mashaba explains why he handed power to ‘irresponsible’ DAHe clarified that there was no coalition agreement with the DA.
Read more »
DA rejects deal that would have brought back Herman Mashaba as Johannesburg mayorThe DA has rejected a proposed deal by opposition parties that would have seen ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba given the City of Johannesburg's mayoral chain.
Read more »
‘We are playing our political game’: DA scores as ANC gets EFFed up in the metrosSenior EFF insider explains why party voted for the DA in SA’s metros, a decision which ‘surprised’ Helen Zille
Read more »
DA's da Gama elected Joburg council speakerDA councillor Vasco da Gama has been elected speaker of the City of Johannesburg council.
Read more »