Although the EFF has committed to voting with the DA at city council sittings, they have come out strongly against the man who the DA wants to put at the helm of the City of Johannesburg.
The EFF has objected to DA Mayoral Candidate, Herman Mashaba, being elected as City of Johannesburg Mayor, purely because of his utterances on poor people. Party leader, Julius Malema said, “We are not comfortable with Herman Mashaba because he speaks down on [sic] black people and he rejects his own identity as a black man.”
Earlier this year, Mashaba was quoted in a television interview on SABC saying that poor people cannot lead because they were susceptible to corruption.
Malema also pointed out that the EFF did not believe that Mashaba had the experience to run the City. “He himself, Mashaba, confessed that he is not a mature politician. A mayor needs to be a matured [sic] politician.”
DA leader, Mmusi Maimane has however stated that it would be immoral for his party to remove Mashaba. “When the people of Johannesburg voted, they voted for Herman Mashaba to be mayor of this city,” he said.
Malema, however, had a different view on the matter. “If the people of Joburg voted for Mashaba to be mayor, he would be mayor,” countered Malema.
On 22 August, the City of Johannesburg will hold its inaugural council meeting, where the mayor, speaker of council and chief whip will be elected. If the EFF votes with the DA, a mayor will come from the DA but if the EFF abstains from voting, ANC Mayoral Candidate, Parks Tau might be elected back into office if all ANC councillors vote because of the number of seats they hold in the city council.
