Newly elected mayor Herman Mashaba would probably spend his tenure at the helm of the City of Johannesburg behind the scenes convincing political organisations to accept his ideas.
This is the view of Free Market Foundation (FMF) executive director, Leon Louw.
Before shifting to politics, Mashaba was a member of the FMF and he led the constitutional court battle against Section 32 of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) in order to allow small businesses to function effectively.
Speaking to Northcliff Melville Times after the City of Johannesburg’s epic inaugural meeting (report on page …) about what kind of a mayor Mashaba would make, Louw said, “He is an extraordinarily energetic person. He is the sort of person who succeeds when others fail.”
“When he announced that he was going into politics and joining the Democratic Alliance, most people thought he did not have any chance,” recalled Louw.
“Initially, his decision seemed almost impossible but he rose to the challenge and did it,” he said.
He explained that Mashaba was not ideological and hence he would need to convince other political parties to support his decisions.
According to him, Mashaba wanted to ensure that people who stay in the townships get title deeds for free but it would require him to convince other political organisations.
“He has a good heart to change the lives of people in the City but he faces an obvious challenge, he does not have the majority,” he explained.
Louw expanded on this statement by explaining that Mashaba would need to convince political organisations such as the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) who call for everything to be controlled by the State.
Louw also mentioned that it would be more efficient to rely on contractors in order to maintain the City’s infrastructure such as traffic lights and roads.
“The easy way to do this would be to outsource to the existing contractors rather than bureaucracy.”
However, to do this, he said, it would have to be done like it is done in the business world.
“He must give them a contract with key performances and penalty clauses. This is the way he used to get things done in business and that is exactly the formula he must follow to run the City’s council,” he concluded. (More reports on p4)
Details: Free Market Foundation, 011 884 0270.
