The Accidental Mayor. Michael Beaumont
The Accidental Mayor Published by Penguin Books an imprint of Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd Reg. No. 1953/000441/07 The Estuaries No. 4, Oxbow Crescent, Century Avenue, Century City, 7441 PO Box 1144, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa www.penguinrandomhouse.co.za
First published 2020
13579108642
Publication © Penguin Random House 2020
Text © Michael Beaumont 2020
Cover photograph © Gallo Images / Cornel van Heerden
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owners.
PUBLISHER: Marlene Fryer
MANAGING EDITOR: Robert Plummer
PROOFREADER: Lauren Smith
COVER AND TEXT DESIGNER: Ryan Africa
TYPESETTER: Monique van den Berg
INDEXER: Sanet le Roux
ISBN978 1 77609 554 4 (print)
ISBN978 1 77609 555 1 (ePub)
The author has put many months of work into researching and writing this book. This ebook is NOT free, and should be bought from an ebook retailer. If you are circulating it for free, you are breaking the law and can be prosecuted under the Copyright Act 98 of 1979.
Contents
3.The true state of Johannesburg
8.‘Outright, shameless looting’
11. The most difficult partner
12. The state vs Herman Mashaba
16. The final throes of a dying horse
18. What is wrong with local government?
ACDP: African Christian Democratic Party
AIC: African Independent Congress
ANC: African National Congress
ARP: Alexandra Renewal Project
BEE: black economic empowerment
COPE: Congress of the People
COSATU: Congress of South African Trade Unions
DA: Democratic Alliance
EFF: Economic Freedom Fighters
FF+: Freedom Front Plus
IDP: Integrated Development Plan
IEC: Independent Electoral Commission
IFP: Inkatha Freedom Party
IMATU: Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union
IRR: Institute of Race Relations
JMPD: Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department
MoU: memorandum of understanding
NFP: National Freedom Party
NPA: National Prosecuting Authority
PA: Patriotic Alliance
SACP: South African Communist Party
SAHRC: South African Human Rights Commission
SAMWU: South African Municipal Workers’ Union
SAPS: South African Police Service
SARS: South African Revenue Service
UDM: United Democratic Movement
On 22 August 2016, I was elected the executive mayor of the City of Johannesburg. It was with a desperately narrow majority formed by seven political parties at the time. Our task was to meet the astronomical expectation of delivering change in Johannesburg to people who had been forgotten by one successive government after another.
I was not a politician, either by experience or desire.