Business is beautiful

Johannesburg’s mayor outlines plans for the city and believes not being a politician helps

There are three critical figures in the running of any city — the mayor, the finance member of the mayoral committee and the city manager. For the first time in 21 years of local government, the City of Johannesburg is not being run by the ANC.

The DA’s newly elected mayor, Black Like Me founder Herman Mashaba, has announced his team to run SA’s economic hub.

Concerns have been raised over whether Mashaba, a political novice, is up to the task of running the city. But he says he is not a politician and does not wish to be one. “I want to operate as a public servant and for me to execute my responsibilities as a public servant I have to be honest and practical and deal with issues from that perspective,” he says.

The new executive mayor intends to professionalise the municipality, using his business experience, and will surround himself with experts and people with local government experience.

“In 1994 when our new democracy was born, it was led by one of the greatest statesman the world has ever seen, Nelson Mandela, who had never run a government in his life,” Mashaba says.

“However, all of us were not born yesterday, myself in particular . . . bringing experience of life, bringing experience of social activism, bringing experience of 35 years of running a business. An assignment like this you don’t take on on your own. One gift I believe I have is to put groups of like-minded people around me to ensure we execute any assignment.”

Mashaba was born in Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, and was raised by his single mother.

In 1980, in his second year at the University of the North, his dream of studying was shattered when the institution was shut down because of political unrest. Despite the university later reopening, he did not return.

A few months later he got his first job at a Spar in Pretoria, earning R175 a month. Seven months later he resigned, for a job paying R100 more. This was at Motani Industries, where he worked for 23 months. He started saving and bought a car, then resigned and began selling various products from his car boot. Mashaba did not want to spend his life working for someone else.

Mashaba partnered with three “likeminded” people — Joseph Molwantwa, Walter Dube and Johan Kriel — and raised money to start Black Like Me in 1985. The four men were equal partners.

Seven months ago, Mashaba started his political career when the DA announced he would be the party’s mayoral candidate for Johannesburg, less than two years after he announced that he had joined the party.

His campaign got off to a rocky start with statements which were construed as antipoor and anti-black. These included comments that he did not believe in race-based policies such as black economic empowerment and that poor people were more susceptible to corruption because they did not know how to handle money.

It is not clear yet what Mashaba’s 100-day plan for Jo’burg will entail but he is adamant that job creation, to help the 800,000 unemployed in the city, and the rooting out of corruption are on the top of his list.

The team surrounding him will be the key to achieving his goals. While the full team is still taking shape, he announced his mayoral committee last Friday, on his 57th birthday.

Heading the city’s finances is Rabelani Dagada, who will in essence be the finance minister of the biggest city in Africa, home of

‘‘ WHEN BUSINESSES MAKE MONEY THEY PAY TAXES AND NOW THAT IS WHERE WE COME IN AS GOVERNMENT HERMAN MASHABA