Africa Programme Meeting Summary

Local Government in : Opposition Priorities and Potential

Herman Mashaba

Democratic Alliance candidate for Mayor of

Chair: David Butler

CEO, South African Chamber of Commerce (UK)

5 April 2016

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2 Local Government in South Africa: Opposition Priorities and Potential

Introduction

The following document provides a summary of a meeting held at Chatham House, on 5 April 2016, with Herman Mashaba, Democratic Alliance candidate for Mayor of Johannesburg.

The speaker outlined the DA’s vision, with specific reference to the city of Johannesburg, focusing on inclusive governance and leadership, and engaging the needs and ideas of the citizens of Johannesburg and beyond. The main points to be addressed in Johannesburg include job creation and the eradication of obstacles to the job market, attracting local and international businesses, eradicating crime and corruption, and boosting transport and the city’s infrastructure network.

The meeting was held on the record. The following summary is intended to serve as an aide-memoire for those who took part, and to provide a general summary of discussions for those who did not.

For more information – including recordings, transcripts, summaries, and further resources on this and other related topics – visit www.chathamhouse.org/research/africa.

Herman Mashaba

The speaker began by stating that he supported an African National Congress (ANC)-led South Africa under ’s leadership. He greatly admired the party that had liberated black South Africa from , and had believed that it would incite the next great wave towards the unity, dignity and transformation of the country. He supported the then President Thabo Mbeki until 2001, after which he shifted his support to the Democratic Alliance (DA), for which he voted in the 2004 elections. He also joined the Free Market Foundation, of which he was chairman for three years.

After the 2014 elections, at which the ANC won 62 per cent of the vote, the speaker had publicly announced his membership of the DA and his dissatisfaction with the ANC. He expressed the view that President Jacob Zuma and the ANC used racial mobilization techniques to divide South Africa and divert attention from their failures, and that this had motivated him to run as a candidate of the DA.

The DA has a liberal internationalist approach, based on the belief that successful cities and countries are those that innovate and exercise smart power. While the DA recognizes the importance of globalization, it also recognizes the divisions in South Africa; these are no longer divisions along racial lines, but are instead economic divisions between the poor and the wealthy.

South Africa’s leaders must exercise smart leadership in order to respond to the challenges that facing the country today. The DA is engaging with everyone who can contribute to the development of the city of Johannesburg, irrespective of their political agenda or ideology. As a result of these interactions, the speaker stated that he has developed his vision for the city, launched two weeks earlier.

The use of international statistics and models on fast-thinking cities will not win the war that Johannesburg must fight. A vision needs to be developed from two standpoints: it has to be in line with the DA’s policies; and must also be realistic for those who are most in need of the city’s transformation. The speaker called on the people of Johannesburg to give him five years; if by then he had not delivered on his vision for the city, they could vote the DA out of office.

The architecture of Johannesburg spans the 20th century and reaches into the new millennium. The DA’s vision is to make Johannesburg Africa’s leading commercial capital, and the engine that will revive South Africa. The speaker stated that his primary goal as the DA mayoral candidate was to lead a responsive 3 Local Government in South Africa: Opposition Priorities and Potential

government that listens to and acts on the citizens’ concerns. The DA is not afraid of challenges, and takes its role of opposition very seriously, since this is the essence of democracy.

Johannesburg can learn from the example of Cape Town. Ten years, ago the DA formed a seven-party coalition in Cape Town in order to take the city out of the ANC’s hands, and five years later it won control with a decisive majority. The speaker claimed that indicators show that Cape Town is currently the most equitable city in the country, with the largest portion of its budget spent on the poor. Furthermore, it has the lowest inequality level of all South African cities. However, South Africa cannot transform if Johannesburg is not transformed. The city contributes nearly 17 per cent to the country’s GDP. The speaker stated that a win for the DA in Johannesburg would immediately re-energize and re-invoke South Africa’s fledging economy. As a starting point, Johannesburg is already a great city. It boasts diverse cultures, sound financial institutions, innovative industries and a lively art scene, and is the heartbeat of the nation.

There has been progress in South Africa since 1994, when the first democratic elections ushered in new hope. Mandela’s government made impressive progress to deliver basic services, infrastructure and housing to South Africans. However, this progress has stalled, and service delivery is no longer meeting the needs of the people. There is high unemployment, affecting millions of South Africans, particularly the young black population.

The DA aims to eradicate obstacles to the job market and create opportunities. A properly managed and dynamic city is the backdrop to innovation in every country. The DA’s vision is to boost job creation in the city over the next five years. Restrictions will be eradicated and by-laws that obstruct businesses will be reviewed and amended within the DA’s first 100 days in office. The DA aims to work towards creating a business environment that attracts new business to the city. The city owns many buildings that will be audited and identified to provide affordable commercial spaces for small businesses and shops, as a means of reversing the decline of the inner city. Smart local government is the strategic facilitator that will connect aspiring entrepreneurs with access to microfinance and loans.

The DA intends to develop a customized software network to connect all aspects of the city’s infrastructure. Centralization of the city’s data will improve service delivery, from repairing potholes to delivering energy-saving infrastructure to the people.

It is the intention of the DA to continue to engage with businesspeople internationally, to keep emphasizing investment, and to encourage trade missions to South African cities. The city’s business- friendly environment will be upheld. Skills will be directed to the places where expertise is most needed. Officials will be trained, and regular evaluation and performance monitoring will be implemented in order to ensure excellent services and raise the city’s profile. Instant access for government executives to information on the progress of every major service delivery project by the city will be facilitated. This will enable a responsive government that reports back to the voters. Enterprises owned by the municipality have to become more open, accountable and transparent. Elected and public servants have to work in harmony to establish the smartest and most efficient city government in Africa.

The DA aims to cooperate with the private sector in Johannesburg to spearhead two unique South African projects. Day care centres will be established in every township, at which children will receive nutritious meals, nurturing and basic pre-school education; and city-owned properties will be identified so that entrepreneurs can turn these spaces into top-performing schools of excellence, following the example of successes in other cities worldwide. These projects should contribute to the reversal of the decline of the inner city. 4 Local Government in South Africa: Opposition Priorities and Potential

Crime and drugs are damaging the city’s progress and reputation. The DA wants to unite the expertise of the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department, state officials and private security companies. Safety and security data should be centralized in order to improve local policing and identify drugs trade and gang activity. Corruption in the police will be addressed by establishing an internal investigation unit that is directly accountable to the people through both the mayor and open council committee meetings. The proposed unit has to be empowered in order to fast-track an internal disciplinary system, and must be able to pursue criminal charges against corrupt officers through the criminal justice system. Furthermore, the police will be protected to do their job properly by ensuring they have body and vehicle dashboard cameras, as well as a fleet of unmarked cars.

In addition, the DA emphasizes the importance of home ownership. Shelter is a constitutional right in South Africa, and the DA will uphold this basic human right to which people of Johannesburg are entitled. Three strategies will be pursued to address the Johannesburg housing crisis. First, home ownership will be enabled within six months by giving thousands of people entitlement rights. Second, housing lease corruption will be fought by making the process transparent and open. Third, entrepreneurs who build environmentally friendly, sustainable and attractive mixed housing, particularly in the townships and inner city, will be supported and incentivized.

A simplified and integrated transport plan is needed to boost movement in the city. It will ensure that the poor have easy access to quality public transport. The DA will develop a reliable public transport system that avoids long and unnecessary motorized travel. The DA’s vision for a healthy and social city includes steering citizens away from cars towards socially efficient methods of transport such as public transit, cycling and walking. Johannesburg will be modelled on what other forward-looking cities are doing. Thus, rapid congestion charging, adaptive parking and bike sharing will be the norm. This will be achieved by improving the city’s transportation technology and operational management.

Summary of Question and Answer Session

Questions

Is impact investment – the targeting of social and environmental returns in addition to financial returns – something that is of interest to the speaker, and does the speaker see an opportunity in this?

What steps or measures will the speaker put in place to ensure capacity-building of the personnel that are going to work on digital technology deployment?

Is the centralized system of intelligence-gathering going to work for just Johannesburg, or is it going to be a system of intelligence-sharing between the component units of other parts of South Africa?

Herman Mashaba

The economy is underperforming due to global issues that affect South Africa, but this is only half of the challenge that the country is facing. At the end of apartheid in 1994, the black population felt left out of the economy. Their organizations were banned until the late 1980s; and when the new government took over the country, it immediately started introducing labour legislation and dispensation to protect the exploited South Africans. However, these policies haven’t worked. The legislative framework that the government has been pursuing over the last 20 years, particularly under the leadership of Jacob Zuma, focuses solely on the few employed South Africans, and approaches the economy as if it was functioning well and with access to highly skilled labour. South Africans with few skills and little education are the 5 Local Government in South Africa: Opposition Priorities and Potential

biggest casualties of this policy. There are currently almost 8.5 million South Africans deprived of the opportunity to work.

The framework is particularly alienating and destructive for small business, as they do not have the capacity to employ highly skilled human resources personnel to deal with the sophisticated framework. If it is to attract investment into the country effectively, the government must first get South Africans to invest in the city, and this can only be achieved through business-friendly policies. The international investment community does not only have South Africa as a potential investment destination; if South Africa does not create an environment that is conducive to business investors, they will go elsewhere, which is what has been happening in recent years.

The speaker stated that he had begun to engage with the business community in order to increase investment in Johannesburg. In particular, the provision of low-cost housing would help to kick-start development in the city. Johannesburg city centre has many buildings that are of interest to property developers. Furthermore, the production of housing will immediately generate employment.

Questions

Who, and what, is going to pay for the speaker’s vision; and does the speaker see himself and the DA accomplishing all of the aforementioned ambitions within five years?

What strategy or system will the speaker use to monitor community tension in Johannesburg?

Johannesburg faces not only rural-to-urban migration, but also north-to-south migration in the African continent that has led to high levels of xenophobia. How will the speaker address this?

Herman Mashaba

The elected government has to work to terms of office, as it is the only way in which democracy can succeed. Terms are the safety net for voters. If the DA does not deliver, voters should not wait 22 years to change this. Civil society can ensure that the DA sticks to its terms.

South Africa does not have enough internal resources. Developers are ready to move in if there is a government that they can work with. Local capital is not sufficient, and thus international investment is needed. The government cannot generate money; it has to come from the business community. Small business development is one of the key factors that can bring a turnaround in South Africa. The government has to create the environment that allows people to generate this money.

Over the last few years the borders have remained open, which is irresponsible and has created large problems for South Africa. It is not only a matter of international migration, but also one of local South Africans moving to the cities. The migration of people has to be regulated in an orderly and legal fashion. The xenophobic attacks that South Africa is facing occur because of the limited resources invested in this issue.