Herman Mashaba on refusing to work with Zille, declining a Cabinet post

He led Mzansi's newest green party to fifth place in the 2021 municipal polls, so the question is: what will it take for Herman Mashaba's ActionSA to do it again in 2026? The founder of Black Like Me is our guest this Newsmaker Thursday on News24's The Lead. Mashaba insists that ActionSA is the only party growing its councillor base by attracting smaller parties to defect without having to win by-elections. Can he pick up where he left off as mayor of a now-broken Johannesburg? Mashaba promises to resume his project of reclaiming so-called “problem buildings” by, in part, rounding up illegal migrants in the inner-city. But what if he doesn't clinch the Jozi mayoral chain outright in the upcoming municipal polls and needs to form a coalition? Mashaba insists that even if that happens, he will refuse to work alongside his rival, DA mayoral candidate Helen Zille, again. Finally, on this day in 2004, 75 000-year-old shell beads washed up near Stilbaai, sparking global headlines. Comment below and send our host, broadcast journalist Graeme Raubenheimer, a voice note: 072 562 3179. To advertise: thelead@24.com. Full editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube. The show is fully produced, presented and edited by Raubenheimer and quality-checked by News24's editors.