MK Party rejects Helen Zille's 'nonsensical' Joburg mayoral run
UMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party has rejected the Democratic Alliance's possible mayoral candidate in Joburg for the 2026 local government elections Helen Zille.
Zille, who was born and bred in Hillbrow, where she worked for the Rand Daily Mail as a journalist during apartheid, has expressed her desire to run for mayor in the City of Johannesburg.
She previously served as the leader of the Blue Party from 2007 to 2015 and also served as the Premier of the Western Cape for two five-year terms.
In an interview with Radio 702 on Monday, 9 June, Zille said she would consider being mayor because South Africa can't succeed if Johannesburg remains broken as it is the country's economic capital, and it must be fixed.
'South Africa can be on the road to success but we've got to fix it bit by bit and I've always said that's gonna start with local government. That's why we put all our eggs into trying to win somewhere at the local level, demonstrating better governance and building from there, from the bottom up. I've always said that is the way to transform South Africa and that is what we're doing,' she said.
Reacting to the news, the MK Party said 'it is nonsensical to consider the possibility of a Capetonian holding mayoral capacity in a city that she is alien to' given the number of qualified men and women who reside in the city of gold.
The party said it is vital to remind 'Helen Zille and her cronies' that the current state of disarray found in the City of Johannesburg is courtesy of absent mayor Dada Morero and has resulted in the metropolitan municipality being brought to its knees.
'Dada Morero and the ANC should hang their heads in shame for emboldening a white supremacist and giving her the confidence to believe that she can adequately run this city,' MK Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said.
Ndhlela also called on Johannesburg residents to 'reject the propaganda that the DA does not see colour. As shown in the City of Cape Town, the DA's priorities tend to shift depending on the race of the residents.'
'There are more than enough black candidates that can adequately fulfill the mayoral mandate in the City of Johannesburg. The MK Party remains steadfast in our belief that the failures of the ANC should not be recycled, nor should they rest on the shoulders of candidates who want to effect real change,' Ndhlela said.
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