Herman Samtseu Philip Mashaba

That contest is shaping up to be one of the most bitterly fought at the first and second rounds of municipal voting in November and January with a three-way race between Zille the ANC's incumbent Dada Morero – though it is far from certain he will secure the ANC's nomination – and Herman Mashaba a former mayor and the leader of ActionSA which he founded in 2020 after leaving the DA (AC Vol 66 No 19 Parks Tau – Ramaphosa's trade troubleshooter & Vol 60 No 23 The DA's race dilemma)...

A former African National Congress (ANC) Mayor of Johannesburg Parks Tau's career was in jeopardy after losing the mayoralty to the Democratic Alliance's Herman Mashaba in 2016 after just one term: a party stronghold lost and a handsome ANC majority from 2011 wiped out (AC Vol 57 No 17 Zuma carries on regardless)...

ActionSA's Herman Mashaba says the 750m rand budget points to a ‘carefully choreographed process to fool South Africans yet again'...

Zille contends that the DA has adhered to GNU rules throughout accusing the ANC of breaking ranks by negotiating outside the coalition with Herman Mashaba's small ActionSA party to secure a narrow majority (194-182) to get the pre-budget enabling fiscal framework over the line...

Steenhuisen and other DA figures tired of opposition politics seek government roles to avoid losing ground to rivals such as Herman Mashaba (ActionSA) Mmusi Maimane (Build One South Africa) or Songezo Zibi (Rise Mzansi)...

ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba donated R2m to his party in May 2023...

These parties – including new ones such as Songezo Zibi's Rise Mzanzi Roger Jardine's Change Starts Now former ANC Western Cape leader Marius Fransman's People's Movement for Change (PMC) and Herman Mashaba's ActionSA – are entering the race adamant they can take away votes from the ANC and the main opposition the DA...

The most significant smaller parties with representation are Herman Mashaba's ActionSA the right-wing Freedom Front Plus led by Pieter Mulder and ex-jailbird Gayton McKenzie's Patriotic Alliance...

Others said that if it wants to attract black voters it would need to explain the exodus from its ranks of impressive black leaders such as Lindiwe Mazibuko Mmusi Maimane Phumzile van Damme Mbali Ntuli Herman Mashaba and Bongani Baloyi...

The Oppenheimer family's donations came in the form of a R15m ($824 000) contribution to the Democratic Alliance (DA) from Mary Slack daughter of Harry and Bridget Oppenheimer; and R10m ($555 000) from her three daughters in equal tranches for Herman Mashaba's ActionSA...

Current leaders who emerged strengthened in last year's local government elections such as ActionSA's Herman Mashaba the Patriotic Alliance's Gayton McKenzie and a long list of independent candidates are likely beneficiaries of the post-Zondo political mood...