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Herman Mashaba

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The Honourable
Herman Mashaba
President of ActionSA
(Founder of ActionSA)
Assumed office
29 August 2020
Mayor of Johannesburg
In office
22 August 2016 – 27 November 2019
Preceded byParks Tau
Succeeded byGeoff Makhubo
Member of the Johannesburg City Council
In office
22 November 2021 – 31 January 2022
In office
22 August 2016 – 27 November 2019
Personal details
Born
Herman Samtseu Philip Mashaba

(1959-08-26) 26 August 1959 (age 64)
Hammanskraal, Transvaal, Union of South Africa
CitizenshipSouth Africa
Political partyActionSA
(2020–present)
Other political
affiliations		Democratic Alliance
(2014–2019)
SpouseConnie Mashaba
Profession
  • Politician
  • entrepreneur

Herman Samtseu Philip Mashaba (born August 26, 1959) is a South African politician, entrepreneur and the current president of ActionSA, a party he launched on 29 August 2020. He served as the Mayor of Johannesburg from 2016 to 2019. He is the founder of the hair product company Black Like Me.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] He is famous in South Africa for his background:[9][10] he grew up struggling against poverty and the apartheid government to open his own hair business, which became the biggest hair brand in South Africa, making him a millionaire.[11][12][13] He publicly backed Mmusi Maimane in the Democratic Alliance leadership race.[14][15] He wrote the autobiography Black Like You and recently he wrote his new memoir "The accidental mayor".[16] Mashaba is a libertarian and "capitalist crusader" whose highest value is "individual freedom."[17]

On 22 August 2016, Mashaba was elected Mayor of Johannesburg by the first sitting of the city council following countrywide local government elections.[18] He announced his resignation on 21 October 2019[19] and left office on 27 November 2019.

After launching his new party, Mashaba announced he would run for Mayor of Johannesburg again in the 2021 municipal elections, this time as the ActionSA candidate.[20]

Early life and career

Mashaba was brought up in near-poverty in GaRamotse in Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria by his sisters while his mother worked to provide for the family.

His older brother dropped out of school at 15, moving from one unsubstantial job to another. Mashaba realised that acquiring an education would be crucial for him to break out of the cycle of poverty. He graduated from high school but did not complete his tertiary education.

As a young man, Mashaba bought a car without even having obtained his driver's license. He drove himself from one sales job to another. He started selling "SuperKurl" African hair-care products and became their number-one earner. He soon realised that these products excited him and that he wasn't content to be just an employee.[21]

His company, Black Like Me, was launched on Valentine's Day in 1985 with a R 30,000 loan from his friend, businessman Walter Dube.[22]

Mashaba is also a music lover. After five years of secret lessons, he revealed himself as a pianist.[23]

Politics

From 2012 until May 2014, Mashaba served as chairman of the Free Market Foundation (FMF).[24] He stepped down from his position when he joined the Democratic Alliance as an "ordinary card-carrying member", citing the need for the Foundation to remain politically impartial.[25]

Mashaba announced in December 2015 that he would accept a nomination to stand as a Democratic Alliance mayoral candidate for the City of Johannesburg in the 2016 local government elections. The other possible DA candidate was Rabelani Dagada.[26]

Mayor of Johannesburg

In the municipal election on 3 August 2016, the ruling party, The African National Congress, lost their majority in Johannesburg, taking only 44.12% of the vote with the Democratic alliance taking 38.33%.[27] The Democratic Alliance entered into conversations with the Economic Freedom Fighters to form a coalition. Whilst the EFF declined the offer, they agreed that they would vote for Mashaba as the Mayor of Johannesburg, despite misgivings.[28]

On 22 August 2016, Mashaba was sworn in as a Johannesburg City Councillor. Later that day, he was sworn in as the Mayor of Johannesburg, the first non-ANC Johannesburg mayor since 1994. On 21 October 2019, he announced his resignation as mayor because of differences with DA party leadership.[29] His resignation took effect on 27 November 2019.[30]

Labour

Mashaba has characterised the ANC's post-Apartheid labour laws as "draconian".[24]

He led a Constitutional Court challenge by the FMF, arguing that Section 32 of the Labour Relations Act is unconstitutional.[24] The FMF argued that the bargaining council process reduces competition, as smaller businesses may not be able to afford the higher wages agreed on between larger businesses and unions, contributing further to South Africa's unemployment rate.[31]

Post-mayoral career

Mashaba formed The People's Dialogue, a medium to interact with ordinary South Africans and discuss social and civil issues, which launched on 6 December 2019, and closed on 29 February 2020.[32][33]

After considering running for Mayor of Johannesburg under a different party banner,[34] Mashaba launched the new political party, ActionSA, on 29 August 2020.[35] After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Mashaba criticized the ruling ANC party for refusing to cut ties with Russia.[36]

Public profile

Allegations of xenophobia

See also: Xenophobia in South Africa

Mashaba has made numerous public comments and actions that have been considered xenophobic and linked to incidence of xenophobic attacks and anti-immigrant sentiment.[37][38] He has said South Africa has "nothing to apologise for" in reference to xenophobic violence occurring during his tenure as Johannesburg mayor [39][40] It is said that Mashaba leaves a xenophobic legacy[41] although he has attended a sensitivity program on diversity by the Human Rights Commission.[42]

Support for death penalty

Mashaba is in support of the reintroduction of the death penalty in South Africa but only for rape and murder.[43]

References

  1. ^ Wanneburg, Gershwin. "Can Black Like Me millionaire Mashaba be ordinary DA member?". www.enca.com. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  2. ^ "Where will the rainbow end?". The Economist. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  3. ^ "Stocks". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  4. ^ "Herman Mashaba on BEE, Labour laws and the state of education". BizNews.com. 26 May 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  5. ^ "Business divided over industrialists scheme | IOL Business Report". Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  6. ^ Rand Daily Mail article mentioning Herman Mashaba. http://www.rdm.co.za/lifestyle/2015/05/27/to-which-side-do-you-part-your-hair
  7. ^ Mbindwane, Bongani. "Unregulated wages: the curse of the disposable worker | Daily Maverick". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  8. ^ "Why I'm joining the DA - Herman Mashaba - PARTY | Politicsweb". www.politicsweb.co.za. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  9. ^ "South African Small Business Owners & Entrepreneurs | Fin24". Fin24. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  10. ^ Madondo, Bongani. "Capitalists like me: It's time to speak truth to power". The M&G Online. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  11. ^ Nicolson, Greg. "Herman Mashaba: Scrap the Licensing of Business Bill and limit bargaining councils | Daily Maverick". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  12. ^ "Jobs at risk if government bans labour brokers: Herman Mashaba – chairman, Free Market Foundation". Moneyweb. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  13. ^ Sowetan article about Herman Mashaba's take on South African labour law. http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/business-news/2012/06/04/labour-law-isn-t-right---herman-mashaba Archived 2018-06-29 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ "Herman Mashaba backs Maimane". DailySun. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  15. ^ Business Day magazine article about Herman Mashaba's support for the new DA leader Mmusi Maimane. http://www.bdlive.co.za/national/politics/2015/05/01/herman-mashaba-expresses-support-for-maimane
  16. ^ Financial Times article about Mashaba and his autobiography.http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6a3ff646-10d3-11e3-b291-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3e0mX4D2j
  17. ^ "Libertarian Herman Mashaba elected mayor of Johannesburg". Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  18. ^ "Mayor Mashaba – Corruption is public enemy number 1". News24. Archived from the original on 17 May 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  19. ^ Feketha, Siviwe (21 October 2019). "Herman Mashaba: Why I am resigning from the DA". IOL. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  20. ^ "Herman Mashaba wants to be Joburg mayor again, rules out coalition with the ANC". News24. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  21. ^ (Book titled "South Africa's Greatest Entrepreneurs", compiled by Moky Makura, article written by Isabella Morris)
  22. ^ "Story of Black Like Me, and the man behind it | The Star". Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  23. ^ "On the streets with Herman Mashaba". CityPress. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  24. ^ a b c Ziady, Hanna (5 February 2016). "ANC policies keeping black people poor, says Herman Mashaba". Moneyweb. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  25. ^ "FMF chairman steps down to join the DA". Moneyweb. 28 May 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  26. ^ "Herman Mashaba announced as DA's Joburg mayoral candidate". News24. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  27. ^ http://www.elections.org.za/content/LGEPublicReports/402/Detailed%20Results/GP/JHB.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  28. ^ "EFF will vote for Mashaba, says Malema". News24. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  29. ^ Manyathela, Clement. "Victory for DA as Herman Mashaba is elected Mayor of Johannesburg".
  30. ^ "Mashaba resigns as Johannesburg mayor following Zille's return". The Citizen. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  31. ^ Radebe, Kentse (5 March 2013). "Collusion in labour legislation decision-making". Moneyweb. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  32. ^ "WATCH: Mashaba launches dialogue platform for social change [video]". IOL. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  33. ^ "The four big things Herman Mashaba says his new party will focus on". The Citizen News. Citizen. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  34. ^ Nkenjani, Unathi (18 December 2019). "Herman Mashaba will consider another mayoral term if SA calls for it". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  35. ^ Deklerk, Aphiwe (29 August 2020). "Former Joburg mayor Herman Mashaba launches his new ACTIONSA party". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  36. ^ "Russia's reengagement with Africa pays off | DW | 09.03.2022". DW. 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  37. ^ "South Africa: Years of impunity for xenophobic crimes driving the latest attacks". Amnesty International. 4 September 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  38. ^ "Right2Know blames Mashaba, Ramaphosa, Zwelithini for attacks on foreigners". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  39. ^ "Joburg mayor Herman Mashaba on xenophobia: 'There is nothing to apologise for'". SowetanLIVE. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  40. ^ "Joburg mayor Herman Mashaba on xenophobia: 'There is nothing to apologise for'". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  41. ^ "Mashaba's xenophobic legacy". The Mail & Guardian. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  42. ^ "Johannesburg Mayor Mashaba attend sensitivity programme at HRC". www.sahrc.org.za. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  43. ^ Mashaba, Herman (6 February 2020). "Herman Mashaba: SA needs death penalty for murder and rape". City Press. Retrieved 2 September 2020.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Herman_Mashaba&oldid=1098205546"