By Charmaine Ndlela
Herman Mashaba, leader of ActionSA and the party’s mayoral candidate for the City of Johannesburg, says he is ready to “rescue” the biggest metro in South Africa from total collapse, corruption and criminal syndicates.
Speaking in an exclusive interview to Inside Metros in Illovo, Sandton, Mashaba — known for speaking his mind and unafraid to ruffle feathers — painted a bleak picture of the metro’s condition.
“The city is collapsing in front of our eyes,” he said. “It’s not just about potholes and broken traffic lights. It’s about our safety, our communities and the social fibre of our society. If Johannesburg does not work, South Africa will not work.”
Mashaba was officially announced as ActionSA’s Johannesburg mayoral candidate in late February, as the party seeks to take control of South Africa’s largest city in this year’s local government elections.
He will confront a weakened ANC in Johannesburg, where residents have endured recurring water and electricity outages driven by collapsing infrastructure.
The city council needs more than R200 billion to address long-overdue maintenance and critical upgrades across its deteriorating roads, power grid and water systems.
Home to about five million people, Johannesburg has been mired in political instability since the 2016 municipal elections produced no outright winner.
It is now governed by a fragile ANC-led coalition and has had 10 mayors in less than a decade.
As the economic engine of South Africa and Gauteng, the city generates a significant share of the country’s GDP and remains the wealthiest city on the continent, a key financial and industrial hub.
Mashaba, who served as mayor from 2016 to 2019, says his record in office demonstrates his leadership credentials.
“When I was entrusted with the city before, we brought stability and decisive leadership. I left before finishing my term because there were people who wanted me out for fighting corruption,” he said.
“Today, I am back because residents have asked me to fix what has been broken.”
Mashaba said ageing infrastructure lies at the heart of Johannesburg’s crisis.
“Our water infrastructure is old. Our substations are outdated. You cannot have taps running dry while dams are full. That is a failure of governance,” he said.
Upgrading infrastructure would be a top priority, he added.
“We need to invest in water, in electricity and in proper maintenance. A modern city cannot function on infrastructure built for a population of less than two million when we now serve over six million legal residents.
“We will need to work with national government to build new dams in case one day we do not have enough rain. Right now, it is really sad that our taps are dry while the dam is overflowing. The reason people do not have water today is because of infrastructure failures the current government has not addressed for the last 32 years.”
Mashaba stressed that service delivery and safety must go hand in hand.
“You cannot create jobs in a city where criminals run the streets. We need a metro police force that works. We need boots on the ground. We need law and order.”
Outlining his first 100 days in office, Mashaba said leadership and accountability would be his starting point.
“The first thing I will do is appoint competent MMCs with proven expertise. People must be appointed because of what they know, not who they know,” he said.
He also pledged to appoint a capable and ethical city manager and to re-establish an independent anti-corruption unit.
“We will bring back a proper anti-corruption unit that operates independently of political interference. Corruption is eating this city alive.”
Mashaba committed to lifestyle audits for senior officials, including himself.
“It will start with me. If you want to serve in my administration, you must accept lifestyle audits. We must show residents that we do not live beyond our means.”
Mashaba criticised municipal entities such as City Power and Johannesburg Water as costly and inefficient.
“These entities have boards that cost money and delay service delivery. They do not add value,” he said. “As mayor, I take full accountability. There is no need for unnecessary layers of bureaucracy.”
He said he would table a report in his first or second council meeting to begin collapsing the entities so they report directly to the city manager.
“We need executive directors who are accountable and who move with speed. Residents cannot wait.”
Reclaiming hijacked and abandoned buildings, he argued, is central to economic recovery.
“When I was mayor, we reclaimed 154 buildings. That unlocked R32 billion in potential investment and created thousands of jobs,” he said.
“Inner-city rejuvenation creates jobs immediately, especially during construction, and it brings investors back.”
He warned that hijacked buildings are spreading beyond the inner city.
“We now see hijacked buildings moving into the suburbs. We cannot allow criminal syndicates to take over our city,” he said.
Mashaba said he would establish a dedicated law enforcement unit to identify and expropriate abandoned properties daily.
“We will take back those buildings, lease them to the private sector and build affordable accommodation for our people. That is how you restore dignity,” said Mashaba.
On youth unemployment, Mashaba said restoring investor confidence is key.
“To attract investment, you need policy certainty and the rule of law. Investors must know their money is safe,” he said. “Once we fix infrastructure and tackle crime, jobs will follow.”
He also called for faster development approvals.
“We must speed up development planning and approvals. You cannot frustrate investors with delays and red tape.”
Mashaba reiterated his stance on undocumented foreign nationals involved in crime.
“We are welcoming to people who come here legally and add value. But people who are here illegally and commit crime are not welcome,” he said.
“We already have the highest unemployment rate. We must prioritise our citizens.”
Asked to reflect on his rival and former political ally, the DA’s mayoral candidate Helen Zille, Mashaba — not known for suffering fools gladly — was curt and dismissive.
“It is an insult to black and coloured people of the Western Cape for anyone to tell us Helen Zille has done a good job,” he said, criticising what he described as a R114 million budget allocation to shield poor communities from public view rather than investing in affordable housing,” Mashaba told Inside Metros.
“People of Alexandra would not want a mayor who walks away. Helen Zille is a non-issue as far as I am concerned in the City of Johannesburg. This city can be fixed. But it requires courage, accountability and decisive leadership. I am ready to do the hard work.”
INSIDE METROS