Former mayor Mashaba throws his hat into Joburg’s mayoral race:
Former Johannesburg mayor and ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has officially put his name forward to contest the mayorship of South Africa’s economic hub, setting up a high-profile race for control of the City of Johannesburg.
Mashaba led Johannesburg from 2016 to 2019, a period during which his administration was credited with efforts to reclaim hijacked inner-city buildings.
According to ActionSA insiders, the party’s decision to field Mashaba for the mayoral race was influenced by the Democratic Alliance’s move to nominate former Western Cape premier Helen Zille as its candidate for Johannesburg’s mayor.
Several senior ActionSA figures, including Michael Beaumont, Lerato Ngobeni, Funzi Nvibeni and Dereleen James, were interviewed before the party settled on Mashaba.
Other parties are also beginning to reveal their hands. The Patriotic Alliance has nominated Kenny Kunene as its mayoral candidate while the African National Congress and the Economic Freedom Fighters have yet to announce their contenders.
Speaking at his acceptance event in Orlando, Soweto, on Saturday, Mashaba said he was stepping back into the political ring “not for spectacle, not for drama, but because this city needs a fighter who knows what it takes to win.
“This is a fight against corruption, a fight against incompetence, a fight against lawlessness,” he said. “It is a fight against decline and collapse and it is a fight to fix Johannesburg. We are here to declare war.”
Mashaba painted a bleak picture of the city’s current state, describing a metropolis in crisis. “Across this city, residents open their taps and not a single drop of water comes out. Streetlights remain broken. Roads are crumbling. Potholes have become craters. Sewage flows through our streets. Lawlessness has turned entire areas into no-go zones,” he said.
He added that jobs were disappearing as businesses shut their doors, while criminal syndicates had overrun parts of the inner city.
“And while residents suffer, what do they receive in return? Recycled excuses, an endless game of political musical chairs and a constant fight for positions and power.”
According to Mashaba, Johannesburg’s decline was not accidental but the result of “sickening corruption, blatant incompetence and failed politicians who care only about their own self-interest”.
However, he insisted the city was not beyond repair. “But it will only be through action that Johannesburg will be fixed,” he said. “I say this with absolute confidence because the people of this city have seen it before. They have witnessed real progress and they know what works.
“Residents of this city have already seen what is possible when leadership is serious, disciplined and backed by skilled and professional public servants,” Mashaba said, pledging a campaign to “reclaim the city” and restore Johannesburg’s standing as the engine of South Africa’s economy.
South Africa at a crossroads – minerals and mobility:
Can South Africa leverage its mineral wealth and manufacturing expertise to secure a meaningful position in Africa’s mobility revolution? The answer requires an honest assessment of our strengths, our limitations and the strategic role the country can realistically play.
South Africa’s manufacturing strengths: A world-class foundation
South Africa boasts the most advanced automotive industry in Africa alongside Morocco, with sophisticated road infrastructure, strong technical capabilities and supply chain depth, and an established manufacturing base.
South Africa has a very mature and evolved automotive ecosystem, including special economic zones (SEZs) designed to boost automotive manufacturing and export capabilities, Tier 1 and Tier 2 manufacturers, training facilities and the Automotive Production and Development Programme (APDP). The country has the most mature original equipment manufacturer (OEM) presence in Africa, supported by deep Tier 1 and 2 supplier networks.
The infrastructure supporting this ecosystem is impressive. Available SEZs include Coega in the Eastern Cape, Dube TradePort in KwaZulu-Natal, Atlantis as an emerging player in the Western Cape, and Tshwane in Gauteng, all with a strong automotive focus and existing OEM presence.
The workforce is highly skilled, supported by excellent training infrastructure, including automotive Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) and technical colleges. South Africa is world-class in terms of manufacturing capability, engineering and access to components for motor vehicle manufacturing.
Four-wheelers: South Africa’s traditional strength and export markets
What sets South Africa apart is that a large part of the population drives four-wheelers rather than two-wheelers, which supports greater economies of scale. This is where South Africa’s manufacturing excellence has historically thrived.
South Africa has a mature automotive sector, including OEMs that export globally, supported by trade agreements such as the SADC European Partnership Agreement (EPA), the Southern African Customs Union and Mozambique–United Kingdom Economic Partnership Agreement (SACUM–UK EPA) and traditionally the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa).
However, the continental picture is changing, especially with Morocco’s increasing competitive advantage in automotive manufacturing. Morocco also benefits from both proximity and a free trade agreement with the European Union.
The rise of two and three-wheelers: A different opportunity
The rise of two and three-wheelers across the continent has been significant, with West Africa arguably the biggest consumer of these vehicles, which are better able to navigate inadequate road infrastructure in the region. Recognising this demand, players from India and China are increasingly moving into this market.
There are many startups, mostly in East Africa, creating electric two and three-wheelers to offset the environmental impact of motorcycles and reduce costs, with increased innovation from fintech startups offering financing and insurance for taxi drivers, spurring local job creation.
The market data reveals South Africa’s position as a relatively small player in the continental two and three-wheeler market, with West and East Africa representing most of the demand. South Africa has a limited motorcycle culture and a small domestic market relative to East and West Africa. However, mobility is changing with delivery bikes for last-mile delivery, though not at the scale seen in West Africa. Furthermore, South Africa is also a high-risk country for motorcycles.
Yet opportunities exist in specific niches. South Africa has a role to play in the last-mile delivery space using motorcycles, and we should start seeing more assembly of two and three-wheelers locally. However, economies of scale continue to favour four-wheelers.
The EV transition: playing catch-up
South Africa has lagged in the electric vehicle (EV) transition, creating both challenges and strategic opportunities.
While South Africa had the white paper on EV, which mandates a strategic shift towards domestic production of EVs by 2035, the country has not had EV-dedicated regulations beyond some tax amendments and a review of import tariffs, and the history of load-shedding and lack of large-scale charging infrastructure has been a detractor for EV companies.
However, policy is beginning to shift. South Africa’s Section 12V tax incentive, signed into law in December 2024, offers a 150% deduction for local manufacturers of EV parts, effective 1 March 2026, signalling that industrial policy and trade are finally aligning.
While South Africa is a large economy that uses four-wheelers, the evolution to EVs is not internationally aligned, posing questions around economies of scale, with OEMs increasingly grappling with how to balance internal combustion engine production with EVs and hybrids. Across the continent, governments are increasingly advancing e-mobility policies. Additionally, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), and the planned phase-out of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle sales in the European Union and the United Kingdom, will pose further challenges for the sector.
The beneficiation challenge
Africa holds more than half the world’s reserves of cobalt and manganese and a significant share of lithium, all essential for EV batteries. The vision is an African hub-and-spoke model, where different countries specialise in different parts of the EV value chain—for instance, Ghana or Ivory Coast assembling, South Africa supplying lithium-ion batteries, and East Africa focusing on two-wheelers.
Yet the reality is more complex. South Africa’s massive energy demands have limited the country’s capacity to use critical minerals to manufacture batteries locally, and even in other areas of the continent where critical minerals will be processed locally, they are commonly exported. Furthermore, battery production remains limited, although notable progress is being made in countries like Morocco.
More generally, the key challenge is not imports themselves. Trade and investment are vital for industrial development, but the focus must be on beneficiation and progressive localisation, not merely semi-knocked-down (SKD) assembly operations that add limited value to the economy. Rather than viewing basic assembly as a problem, it should be seen as the starting point, with a strategy to transition to full CKD production with progressive localisation, an approach successfully adopted by several emerging markets.
Bringing it all together: South Africa’s strategic path
The evidence points to a strategic role for South Africa in the mobility value chain:
• Focus on four-wheelers for regional markets: South Africa’s established automotive ecosystem, deep supplier base and four-wheeler culture provide genuine competitive advantage;
• Targeted two and three-wheeler assembly: Domestic opportunities exist in last-mile delivery and certain niches;
• Critical minerals beneficiation: The shift must be towards real value addition through battery manufacturing and component production, supported by addressing energy constraints and implementing supportive industrial policy;
• Progressive localisation, not just assembly: The mining sector understands beneficiation. The same principle applies to mobility manufacturing. Investment should be structured to progressively increase local content, develop supplier capabilities and transfer technology, not simply bolt together imported components, particularly in the emerging EV space; and
• The AfCFTA value chain opportunity: The AfCFTA has prioritised the automotive sector and transport and logistics value chains, and South Africa can leverage preferential tariffs subject to meeting the rules of origin. From electric vehicles to lithium batteries, realising this opportunity will depend on how effectively South Africa, and the continent, co-ordinates industrial policy, unlocks supply chains, reduces logistics costs and promotes meaningful investment across borders.
Conclusion
The message is clear: minerals alone do not guarantee manufacturing success. South Africa has world-class automotive expertise and significant mineral resources, but must overcome energy constraints, implement progressive localisation requirements that go beyond basic SKD assembly, and focus strategically on sectors where genuine competitive advantage exists. Reducing non-tariff barriers, especially logistics costs and streamlining cross-border trade processes, must also be a priority for the continent.
One of the continent’s big ambitions is to address the challenge of access to affordable, safe mobility. South Africa remains well-positioned to play a key role as a regional and continental mobility hub, but to lead, the country will need greater urgency, coherence and ambition in its mobility goals.
Yael Shafrir is an associate director at Webber Wentzel
Climate change an existential threat, Ramaphosa says:
Climate change poses an existential threat to the future of humanity and the planet, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Friday, urging global and domestic action to curb emissions while safeguarding livelihoods and economic development.
He was speaking as he chaired the virtual inaugural meeting of the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC), its first sitting since being reconstituted under the Climate Change Act.
“We must act with others across the globe to ensure that we do not breach the 1.5°C warming above pre-industrial levels,” the president said.
“We must reduce carbon emissions at a pace and scale that is appropriate to our national circumstances while simultaneously climate-proofing our development and infrastructure and strengthening resilience and disaster management.”
Ministers in the Presidency, higher education and training and forestry, fisheries and the environment attended the meeting, which set priorities for advancing the country’s just transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy.
South Africa, Ramaphosa said, was already experiencing the effects of climate change, citing recent flooding and extreme weather events across several provinces.
These impacts are expected to intensify significantly by the end of the decade, potentially constraining economic growth and undermining efforts to reduce inequality, poverty and unemployment.
“A just transition is not only an environmental imperative. It is equally an economic and social one,” Ramaphosa said, stressing that the shift to a low-emissions economy must protect workers and vulnerable communities while creating new opportunities for development.
“Addressing climate change must therefore go hand in hand with improving living conditions for all,” he added, noting that women, children, people with disabilities, the poor and the unemployed face the greatest risks from climate impacts.
The PCC now operates within a formal legal framework that positions it as a central advisory and coordination body on climate policy, with a mandate that includes promoting social dialogue, advising on policy alignment and supporting the mobilisation of public and private investment.
“As the country works to reduce its carbon footprint, we must ensure that this shift does not disproportionately affect the most vulnerable, such as those who depend on industries like coal mining for their livelihoods,” Ramaphosa said. Achieving this, he noted, would require inclusive social dialogue and unprecedented cooperation between government, business, labour and communities.
Reflecting on the PCC’s work since its establishment in December 2020, Ramaphosa said it had marked a turning point in the country’s climate agenda by fostering consensus among government, business, labour, civil society, youth and academia on some of the most contested climate and development challenges.
The reconstituted commission was assuming its mandate at a critical moment, said PCC deputy chairperson Dipak Patel. “Climate action must drive development, protect workers and communities and unlock new economic opportunities,” Patel said, adding that the PCC would sharpen its focus on delivery over the next five years.
Ramaphosa said South Africa would prioritise both emissions reduction and adaptation as it mobilises climate finance, with pathways to meeting its Nationally Determined Contribution targets (its national climate plan) designed to reinforce economic growth, social inclusion and job creation.
He highlighted the redevelopment of Komati power station and its surrounding community as a key test of the just transition. The coal-fired power station was decommissioned in 2022, leaving the local economy without a clear recovery plan.
“The closure of this coal-fired plant significantly affected the local economy, leaving many residents unemployed and the community without a clear recovery pathway” Ramaphosa said.
By prioritising Komati, the PCC should mobilise partnerships towards the sustainable redevelopment of the area, as a model demonstration of a just transition, not only replacing lost jobs but building a sustainable and resilient local economy that benefits residents over the long term, he said.
The PCC committed to work more closely with ministers and their departments across government through coordinated leadership and shared accountability, to ensure that climate action is integrated into national priorities, including energy, finance, trade, labour, and cooperative governance.
Patel said the PCC would build on the strong foundation established by the first cohort of commissioners and sharpen its focus over the next five years.
“As the commission embarks on its second term, we will focus on strengthening public awareness, enabling local action and advising on the required policy adjustment measures where necessary driven collective resolve to ensure that South Africa’s transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient future is inclusive, fair, and development-driven.”
With much of the policy groundwork now in place, it was time to move the country’s Just Energy Transition Partnership “from commitment to delivery”, Ramaphosa noted.
This would require accelerating renewable energy deployment, expanding transmission infrastructure, enabling energy storage and creating space for greater private-sector participation.
“This must be a transition to a transformed, inclusive and more equal economy. Through coordinated leadership and shared accountability, we can undertake climate action in a manner that advances development, protects livelihoods and unlocks new opportunities for our people,” he said.
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