Herman Mashaba will consider another mayoral term if SA calls for it

Former Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba is keen to make a comeback as mayor of Johannesburg as early as 2021, if SA calls for it.

Mashaba hung up the mayoral chains in October after three years in office.

He cited tensions in the DA as his reason for resigning. This after Helen Zille was appointed chairperson of the party's federal council.

A month later, he launched The People's Dialogue movement with former DA leader Mmusi Maimane.

Mashaba told Cape Talk that the pair planned to form a political party next year, depending on feedback they received from citizens on The People's Dialogue.

He said the input would also be a deciding factor in whether he or Maimane contested the 2021 local government elections. 

"I'm pushing to get the mandate from the people. If the people of SA share the same values, fears, concerns and aspirations as I do, I'm happy to serve. We've got local government elections around the corner.”

Mashaba said information from The People’s Dialogue would give an insight into what policies they should formulate.

“South Africans are frustrated with the current political arrangement, which is benefiting political leadership and has nothing to do with civil society.”

TimesLIVE reported that The People's Dialogue was launched to engage with South Africans about forging a better future and building a united country.

In a statement, Mashaba said he was confident that ordinary citizens, who shared a desire to save the country, were capable of finding innovative solutions.

EWN reported that Mashaba said he was willing to form a political alliance, should the other party share his ideals.

“If people are saying to me, ‘Herman, we’d really like you to take over the running of the city or country, but we don’t want the private sector involved', I’m not interested, because I think that some of these things are not negotiable.”

Despite him saying he would not be joining any political party after he quit the DA, Mashaba said he was happy to oblige and keep on serving the country.

“People are saying we want the rule of law, we want the people of the world to come to South Africa, but we want immigration that is controlled as per our constitution. These are things that I’m happy to oblige and keep on serving my country.”

There were mixed reactions to the news on social media.

Here is a snapshot: