Herman Mashaba’s Biography Pulled Amid Funding Backlash, Expert Says Mashaba Should Have Come Clean

• ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba's biography will no longer be sold in South African bookstores
• Johnathan Ball Publishers decided to withdraw the "unauthorised' biography after it was revealed Mashaba paid R12.5m to have it written
• A media expert said the controversy could have been avoided if the ActionSA leader had disclosed the payment arrangement

JOHANNESBURG - The controversy surrounding Herman Mashaba's "unauthorised" biography has finally come to a head.

Johnathan Ball Publishers pulls plug on Herman Mashaba's biography

Less than a month after Prince Mashele's The Outsider: Unauthorised Biography of Herman Mashaba was published, Johnathan Ball Publishers has decided to pull the book from shelves.

The move comes after questions arose about whether the book was an unauthorised, independent political critique of Mashaba's career when it was revealed that he paid Mashele R12.5m to write the book.

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Johnathan Ball Publishers had no prior knowledge of the arrangement and decided to take the book off the market on the grounds of breach of trust, News24 reported

Media expert criticised Herman Mashaba for not disclosing he funded biography

Media expert Tshamano Makhadi criticised the ActionSA leader for not disclosing that he funded the book and, by default, authorised the biography.

Makhadi added that there is nothing wrong with a prominent political figure commissioning a biography, but the fact that The Outsider was marketed as unauthorised gives the wrong impression, SABC News reported.

On Monday, 24 May, ActionSA National Chairperson Micheal Beaumont came out in defence of Mashaba, stating that while his party's leader did fund the project, Mashaba had no editorial control over the content in the book.

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South Africans are divided by Herman Mashaba's book deal controversy

Below are some comments:

@JacquesMaree73 said:

"That was R12m well spent. I can see why he's considered an astute entrepreneur."

@Motlotlegi_ claimed:

"They went into Mashaba's life with a toothpick, and the worst thing they could find was the title of a book he funded."

@LaureenBertin asked:

"This country is unhinged!! What possessed them? What was the expected gain from all of this?"

@krishGovender58 questioned:

"Again I ask, if there was nothing untoward or devious about this book deal, why is the plug being pulled?"

@RiaanOl24364772 added:

"Good! Mashaba on an ego trip!!"

@MotsohiThabang commented:

"Lessons to be learnt?? Disclose, disclose and disclose."

ActionSA’s Herman Mashaba slammed ex-deputy president David Mabuza’s R3m salary as “unbelievable”

Earlier, Briefly News reported that the news about former deputy president David Mabuza keeping his salary elicited the ire of ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba.

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Mashaba said that it was unbelievable that Mabuza would be keeping his R3 million annual salary (R250K a month), VIP protection and various other perks despite quitting as DP before his term ended.

The ActionSA leader found it inconceivable that Mabuza would enjoy the DP perks at the expense of taxpayers when 54% of South Africans live in poverty, TimesLIVE reported.

Source: Briefly News