Mashaba says Mazibuko’s mayoral proposal 'didn’t make any sense'

When ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba met with former DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko to discuss her potential as City of Joburg mayoral candidate, he did not expect the talks to end over a proposal he said “didn’t make any sense at all.”

In a sit-down interview with IOL News in Johannesburg, Mashaba said he had approached Mazibuko about running for the position under the ActionSA banner.

“I had two meetings with Lindiwe and one of her colleagues. I gave her the proposal to be the right candidate for the City of Johannesburg,” he said.

“But then, at the next meeting, she was happy to do it on the condition that we do something with RISE Mzansi, BOSA, and GOOD Party.”

Mashaba said he rejected the proposal outright.

“I said, you know what, I’m not going to do it. This is not going to work. I’m not going to do the deal because of that,” he said.

“They wanted us to form part of that as well. She wanted me to really be part of that so that we could collapse our own parties.”

In October, IOL News reported that Build One SA (BOSA), the GOOD Party and RISE Mzansi had announced their unification under a single banner, Unite for Change.

The new political formation said it aimed to transform South African politics ahead of the 2026 local government elections.

This historic consolidation marked a major shift in the country’s political landscape, with the three parties, once operating separately, joining forces to offer voters an alternative to the status quo. 

Unite for Change announced it would contest the 2026 municipal elections as a unified movement.

Its founding Leaders’ Council includes prominent national figures such as Dr Mmusi Maimane MP, Patricia de Lille MP, Songezo Zibi MP, Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster MP, Vuyiswa Ramokgopa MPL and Brett Herron MPP.

De Lille servers as the Minister of Tourism in the Government of National Unity (GNU), Zibi is the chairperson of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA), while Ramokgopa is the MEC of Agriculture and Rural Development in Gauteng.

According to Mashaba, Mazibuko wanted ActionSA to join the three parties, but he said the proposal “didn’t make any sense at all”.

“In fact, the proposal didn’t make sense to me. This was not about our individual parties running independently, but about promoting this new entity that must be on the ballot,” he said.

“What was strange about it was that, because it’s a new structure, they said we must go there as four equal partners. And I said to myself, with respect to BOSA and the others - ActionSA has what, 134 or 140 public representatives? 

He said the three parties had about three representatives.

“We are represented in all three spheres of government. We lead in local government, we lead in provinces, we lead in national government. We run the capital city of this country. So how do you expect to be the same size as ActionSA? It didn’t make sense.”

Mashaba said Mazibuko made this a non-negotiable condition.

“For her, it was a condition for us to do the deal with the three parties. But I made it clear to her: if that’s the case, let’s close the discussion because that is not going to help.”

He confirmed that talks with Mazibuko about becoming ActionSA’s Johannesburg mayoral candidate for the 2026 local government elections were now closed.

“The discussion is closed,” Mashaba said. 

“But obviously, with BOSA, RISE and GOOD, I believe we are still good friends. I have absolutely nothing against them.”

He maintained that the proposal was unreasonable.

“The deal didn’t make sense, and I was not prepared to do something that doesn’t make sense.”

Meanwhile, Mashaba has hinted that he may contest as Johannesburg mayor himself ahead of the 2026 local government elections.

He said that if ActionSA could not identify a candidate who shared the same “qualities” as City of Tshwane Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya or City of Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate Xolani Dlamini, he would consider stepping into the role.

ActionSA has opened nominations for its Johannesburg mayoral candidate in preparation for the 2026 elections, with submissions open until the end of November 2025.

The race for Johannesburg’s mayoral seat is already heating up.

So far, two candidates have 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 grapple with severe service delivery challenges, including water and electricity shortages, potholes, poor infrastructure, uncollected waste and malfunctioning streetlights and traffic signals.

The ANC has not yet confirmed whether it will retain Dada Morero as its candidate or replace him with another high-profile figure.

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

Meanwhile, Unite for Change has opened its mayoral candidate recruitment process ahead of the 2026 local government elections.

“We can announce that Unite for Change will be on the ballot in all eight metros, with a mayoral candidate in each to spearhead the respective city-specific campaigns,” it said in a statement.

“A decision on which local and district municipalities Unite for Change will compete in will be made later and will depend on the calibre and quality of candidates applying for each municipality.”

simon.majadibodu@iol.co.za

IOL Politics