This archive report was first published on 21 October 2019.
Published on October 21, 2019, Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba made history in 2016 by becoming the city's first mayor not affiliated with the ruling African National Congress (ANC) since apartheid ended in 1994.
Mashaba, a 60-year-old millionaire who made his fortune in black hair products, was a senior figure in the Democratic Alliance (DA), a party often associated with middle-class white people.
However, on Monday, Mashaba announced his resignation from the DA, effectively ending his tenure as mayor.
"I cannot reconcile myself with a group of people who believe that race is irrelevant in the discussion of inequality and poverty in South Africa," Mashaba stated at a press conference in Johannesburg.
His decision was sparked by the election of former DA leader Helen Zille as the party's federal council chairperson over the weekend.
At the heart of the dispute is the DA's image as a historically white party and its struggle to shed this perception. The party's share of the vote shrunk in elections earlier this year, despite numerous scandals plaguing the ANC.
Mashaba emphasized that his city government's "pro-poor agenda" was at the center of the disagreement.
"Some members of the DA caucus in Johannesburg have suggested that we prioritize the needs of suburban residents above providing dignity to those forgotten people who remain without basic services 25 years after the end of apartheid," he said.
