Herman Mashaba's remarks come on the heels of Helen Zille's court bid, which he argues could exacerbate the city’s ongoing financial instability and hinder its service delivery capabilities.
Image: Picture: Itumeleng English / Independent Newspapers
ActionSA’s Herman Mashaba has slammed Helen Zille after her failed court bid to block the city’s R10.3 billion wage agreement, saying, “Feel free to give me a call if I can be of any further assistance in helping you better understand Joburg.”
In a letter on Monday, Mashaba accused Zille of misunderstanding both the law and the fragile dynamics between the City of Johannesburg and organised labour, warning that her attempt to scrap the Politically Facilitated Agreement (PFA) risked plunging the city deeper into financial and service delivery chaos.
Herman Mashaba's remarks come on the heels of Helen Zille's court bid, which he argues could exacerbate the city’s ongoing financial instability and hinder its service delivery capabilities.
Image: Itumeleng English / Independent Newspapers
“It is highly appropriate at this time that I offer you basic tutelage about the City of Joburg, given that we have potholes in this city that have been around longer than you have.
“It is evident that you have no understanding of the important but fragile relationship between this city and organised labour,” he said.
Zille had urgently approached the courts to interdict the agreement between the city and the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU), arguing it was unlawful, unaffordable, and designed by the ANC to secure political support ahead of elections.
The court dismissed the application, noting the DA had not challenged the deal when it was first concluded.
Both Mashaba and Zille are the mayoral candidates for Johannesburg.
Mashaba agreed that the deal placed a heavy financial burden on a struggling municipality but said Zille’s approach was dangerously simplistic.
“We are in agreement that this agreement is unaffordable,” he said. “But your solution—to cancel it outright and ignore the city’s legal obligations is reckless.”
He stressed that the PFA is not a political whim but a binding outcome of a 2016 CCMA-mediated settlement following labour unrest.
The city’s failure to fully implement it over time has created a mounting liability owed to workers.
“The answer cannot be to pretend it does not exist,” Mashaba said.
Drawing on past experience, he pointed to the City of Tshwane, where resistance by DA-led administrations to similar wage agreements resulted in a Labour Court ruling forcing the city to pay R2 billion in back pay.
“This is what happens when political posturing replaces sound governance,” he wrote.
Mashaba also rejected Zille’s broader stance on labour reform, including her push for performance-linked pay and downsizing what she calls a bloated public service.
While acknowledging inefficiencies, he warned against antagonising workers and undermining relationships critical to keeping the city functioning.
“You show no understanding of the important but fragile relationship between the city and organised labour,” he said.
He argued that Johannesburg’s complexity demands cooperation, not confrontation, noting that more than 30,000 municipal workers are central to delivering basic services in a city already battling infrastructure collapse and erratic service delivery.
Mashaba further criticised what he described as attempts to impose Cape Town-style governance models on Johannesburg, saying the cities differ fundamentally in both structure and political culture.
“You see, Helen, Joburg is not like Cape Town,” he said, adding that she could not transplant solutions without understanding the terrain.
Instead, he called for urgent, pragmatic negotiations with unions—an approach he said balances legal obligations with financial realities while protecting service delivery.
Asked for comment, Kyle Jacob, media liaison for the Zille campaign team, said, "Thank you for reaching out, but we will not be commenting on this statement."
Additional Reporting: The Star Reporter
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