Michael Beaumont Says Multiple Parties Prefer Mashaba and Moya as Johannesburg and Tshwane Mayors

• ActionSA National Chairperson Michael Beaumont discussed coalition negotiations for Johannesburg and Tshwane
• Beaumont revealed that several political parties preferred working with two ActionSA members in both cities
• South Africans weighed in on Beaumont's comments, sharing varied reactions to his comments about the preferred candidates

Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has spent a decade reporting on South Africa's political landscape, crime, and social issues. He worked as a newspaper journalist for 10 years before transitioning to online journalism.

GAUTENG — ActionSA National Chairperson Michael Beaumont has indicated that Herman Mashaba and Dr Nasiphi Moya are emerging as the preferred mayoral candidates for the City of Johannesburg and Tshwane respectively, with multiple political parties signalling willingness to back both figures.

Beaumont made the remarks during a live interview with SABC News. Beaumont told the broadcaster that preliminary coalition discussions have produced a prevailing atmosphere of respect, and that Mashaba and Moya are gaining traction across party lines.

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He attributed this to both individuals' track records in office, noting that South Africans have witnessed how capable mayors can reverse a municipality's fortunes.

"Many people realise that with these municipalities failing as much as they have, these are two mayors that have done it before, and we do need some continuity of leadership to get these two cities moving in the right direction again," Beaumont said.

He confirmed that ActionSA is open to partnering with either the Democratic Alliance or the African National Congress in Johannesburg and Tshwane, subject to conditions. The party has ruled out any arrangement involving Helen Zille and Cilliers Brink, and has set its own requirements for any agreement with the ANC.

How did South Africans react?

Reactions to the interview were divided on social media.

Martnini Bambino commented that Beaumont himself was mayoral material:

"This guy speaks so well. He can be the Mayor. Great guy with legit qualifications. Grandpa Herman and Gogo Hellen can sit down."

Lola Hulcoop rejected Mashaba's potential return:

"We don't want Herman, we want Helen."

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Tasia Manikas argued that the DA's electoral performance should determine who leads:

"Except the biggest number of people in those areas voted for the DA to lead them."

Connor Van der Merwe welcomed a shift in the political landscape:

"Good move. Rather, the ANC dies in the hands of ActionSA than the DA. The old DA vs ANC binary is officially dead!"

Urban Oasis cautioned against entitlement in the negotiations:

"No one won outright, yet everyone is acting entitled. I wonder where all this entitlement is coming from. The party with the most votes should have been the one making noise and starting the coalition talks. But politics doesn't work that way."

Michael Beaumont names DA members ActionSA won't work with

Briefly News also reported that ActionSA's Michael Beaumont clarified that the party's coalition tensions are not with the DA as a whole.

The party's National Chairperson named two members of the DA as individuals he believed had proven incapable of managing coalition arrangements.

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Beaumont used an example of ActionSA Member of Parliament Athol Trollip advocating for working with the DA in Nelson Mandela Bay as proof of this.

Source: Briefly News