He cannot continue on his populist path
EDITORIAL: The problem with Herman Mashaba
From flip flopping on policy proposals to his populist comments on immigrants, Mashaba has yet to impress
Herman Mashaba, the executive mayor of Johannesburg, has been terrifically busy in recent times. But busy doing what exactly? It’s not that there isn’t a lot to do: the City of Johannesburg is a sprawling complex metro with the largest budget in the country — R54.8bn by last year’s count. Jo’burg is also the epicentre of the country’s economy, and the city of gold continues to attract thousands every year, who flock to the city to study and work, and build a prosperous life. Mashaba’s appointment was almost by accident. Before last year’s local government election, it was difficult to imagine that the DA could snatch the relatively well-run city away from the ANC. But a perfect storm of coalition politics and a limping economy meant the pundits were confounded again. This meant the most unlikely candidate — a man with very little charisma and no experience in government — was parachuted into the position of the city’s number one citizen. Since then, he has hopped from one foot-in-mo...
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