Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba is expected to vacate office on 27 November 2019.

JOHANNESBURG – The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Monday said it would hold an urgent federal committee meeting to discuss operations in the City of Johannesburg following the resignation of Mayor Herman Mashaba.

Mashaba said one of the reasons he resigned from the party was because he could not reconcile with a group of people who believed race was irrelevant in the discussion of inequality and poverty in South Africa.

He is expected to vacate office on 27 November 2019.

Mashaba resigned less than 24 hours after former DA and Western Cape Premier Helen Zille was appointed party Federal Council chair on Sunday – a move that has divided the official opposition. The mayor had threatened to resign last week if the party was taken over by what he called “right-wing elements”.

Following this year’s general elections, Zille joined the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) as a senior policy fellow, a position she stepped down from after a nomination for the Federal Council chair. Some members of the DA have disagreed sharply with the role of the IRR in the DA.

More to follow.