‘If need be, I will do it’ - Mashaba eyes Joburg Mayoral race

“If need be, I will do it.” These are the words of ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba, hinting that he would not mind contesting as Johannesburg mayor ahead of the 2026 local government elections.

In an interview with IOL this week, Mashaba said that if ActionSA could not identify a candidate who shared the same “qualities” as City of Tshwane mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya and City of Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate Xolani Dlamini, he would not mind stepping into the role himself.

This comes after ActionSA opened nominations for its Johannesburg mayoral candidate in preparation for the 2026 elections.

Party chairperson Michael Beaumont announced the move in a statement earlier this week, saying nominations would remain open until the end of November 2025.

Beaumont said the ActionSA senate met on Friday and resolved to open applications for the position.

“This nomination process comes at a critical moment for Johannesburg residents who face the invidious choice between a failed ANC mayor and a DA candidate whose record in government depended on where one lived - and took place 1,500 kilometres away, two decades ago,” he said.

The race for Johannesburg’s mayoral seat is heating up as the 2026 local government elections approach.

At this stage, only two candidates have officially entered the contest - the DA’s federal council chairperson, Helen Zille, and the Patriotic Alliance’s (PA) Kenny Kunene, who currently serves as MMC for Transport in the metro.

Johannesburg continues to face severe service delivery issues, including water and electricity shortages, potholes, poor infrastructure, uncollected waste, and non-functioning streetlights and traffic signals, among others.

The ANC, on the other side has not yet confirmed whether it will retain Dada Morero or replace him with another high-profile figure.

Zille previously served as Cape Town mayor and as Western Cape premier.

Mashaba said Zille’s decision to contest for Johannesburg was something he struggled to understand.

“I think for us, honestly, we take it as an opportunity - a huge, huge opportunity. It’s like when Cilliers Brink, the DA Tshwane caucus leader, made herself available in Tshwane, I said: ‘one man down.’

Brink previously served as the mayor of the City of Tshwane from March 2023 and was removed in a motion of no confidence in September 2024.

“So right now, I can confidently say to you, second man down. And with the demise of the ANC, the only parties that we really need to watch in the upcoming local government elections are going to be the MK Party and the EFF.”

Mashaba said he believes the ANC will be a “walkover” for ActionSA.

“Because how do you expect someone (referring to Zille) who is not prepared to provide services to black communities to expect black people to support you? I mean, black people - as much as some people think we are stupid - we are not stupid to that level,” he told IOL News.

Zille and the DA have long faced accusations of neglecting black communities, particularly during her tenure as a mayor and premier. 

Critics have accused her administration of failing to improve living conditions in townships such as Khayelitsha, where residents continue to face poor sanitation and inadequate infrastructure.

Asked what ActionSA would do if it failed to find a suitable candidate, Mashaba admitted he was under pressure from within the party.

“I’m under a lot of pressure from internal structures that are standing for the mayoral candidate. I’m under a lot of pressure,” he said.

Pressed again on whether he wanted to return, he added, “I don’t want to. Because I think I’m 66… I’m not a young man any longer. Politics is a brutal work.”

Speculation has been rife that Mashaba may be ActionSA’s Johannesburg mayoral candidate, especially after the DA fielded Zille.

However, Mashaba said he would step up if necessary.

“But if need be, I will do it. As a party, we’ve made a commitment that in the event we don’t find another Nasiphi Moya or Xolani Khumalo, then I will do it. That’s why we decided, instead of me just standing automatically as the mayoral candidate for my party, to run an open, transparent process,” he said.

Mashaba recently announced Khumalo, Sizok’thola presenter on Moja Love and anti-drug activist, as ActionSA’s mayoral candidate for City of Ekurhuleni.

Khumalo rose to fame for confronting drug dealers on television and has since built a reputation for community activism.

“Perhaps the party might help me. I’ve managed to identify Nasiphi Moya. I have managed to get Xolani. But we need another Nasiphi or another Xolani in the City of Johannesburg.”

“And in the event we don’t find them, I’m happy to serve for five years. Because by then I will be 70 or 71, and I think I must exit direct politics and just be a financial and moral supporter - an ambassador for ActionSA.

“But really, doing the job myself at the age of 70, when we’ve got youngsters - I mean, look, Nasiphi and Xolani are still in their 30s. And I know so many young, ethical people who are today too scared to come into the political space.”

He said the party needed to find ways to attract young people into politics.

“Because this is their space. It is their future that’s at stake,” he said.

Political analyst Solly Rashilo said Mashaba's potential mayoral run is a calculated, strategic move by ActionSA to build internal legitimacy ahead of 2026.

“​His strong opposition to the DA's candidate, Helen Zille, suggests his positioning is partly a defensive reaction to counter a perceived DA resurgence in Johannesburg and rally his base.”

Rashilo said the core issue remains the deep ideological rivalry with Zille, stemming from their history in the DA. 

“It pits Mashaba’s populist, tough-on-crime conservatism against Zille’s establishment liberalism focused on federalism. This framing risks turning the election into a personality battle rather than a policy debate, serving primarily to demarcate ActionSA's political territory against its former party,” Rashilo told IOL News.

Mashaba, who is a businessman, previously served as Johannesburg’s mayor from 2016 to 2019 after joining the DA. He resigned from both the DA and the mayoralty in 2019 following Zille’s re-election as chairperson of the DA’s federal council.

Mashaba has faced criticism for alleged xenophobic statements made during his tenure as Johannesburg mayor.

He later launched his party, ActionSA, in 2020 following his departure from the blue party.

simon.majadibodu@iol.co.za

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