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From what I hear, during her 10 months in office former Joburg Mayor Dr Mpho Phalatse built a sizeable fan base in Soweto – the voting base of SA’s biggest Metro. On the other hand, the 8 seat (of 270) turncoat in her once ruling compact, Gayton McKenzie’s ANC-partnering Patriotic Alliance, appears to be shrinking fast in its heartland of Eldorado Park.
That’s one of many contrasts between two people at the centre of the Metro’s turbulence. Phalatse, a medical doctor, turned to politics in frustration at what she witnessed serving Joburg’s poorest in Alexandria. McKenzie, who served seven a 15-year sentence for armed robbery, is a shameless opportunist who makes no effort at hiding his intentions.
My interview with Phalatse yesterday suggests she can be counted among that most rare of the species, what Athol Trollip describes as “a conviction politician”. She strikes me as the real deal – a servant leader. The personification of much that is good about 21st Century South Africans. McKenzie, from his actions and blustering on YouTube, not so much.
Democracy is far from perfect. Like the stock market, it tolerates aberrations, sometimes for extended periods. But given time, as with share prices there’s a rebalancing. With coalitions set to play a huge role after the 2024 National Elections, let’s hope we see a reversion to the political mean well ahead of SA’s next big voting day. Now just 18 months away.
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The DA’s Joburg leader Dr Mpho Phalatse has gone from medic to politician and from leading the opposition in SA’s biggest city to becoming its Mayor – and then being controversially deposed after an ally with 8 seats in the 270 seat Council switched sides. In this frank interview with Alec Hogg of BizNews, the reluctant politician explains why she is now fighting tooth and nail to prevent a return of the ‘corrupt’ ANC to its old ways, but fears the plundering of Joburg has already started. Phalatse unpacks events of a turbulent year and explains that she’s still working behind the scenes to get back the Mayoral chains. In the process, she also provides insights into the kind of challenges SA is likely to face after the 2024 National Election when political coalitions will become the norm.
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