{"id":31004,"date":"2025-06-09T20:34:44","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T18:34:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/?p=31004"},"modified":"2025-06-09T20:34:44","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T18:34:44","slug":"debate-rages-over-helen-zilles-potential-bid-for-joburg-mayor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/2025\/06\/09\/debate-rages-over-helen-zilles-potential-bid-for-joburg-mayor\/","title":{"rendered":"Debate rages over Helen Zille\u2019s potential bid for Joburg Mayor"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Social media is divided as the debate over who should be Johannesburg’s next mayor continues.<\/div>\n
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This comes after Democratic Alliance (DA) Federal Chairperson, Helen Zille, expressed interest in being the party’s candidate for Joburg mayor in next year\u2019s Local Government Elections (LGE).<\/div>\n
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According to Zille, several party members approached her, urging her to return to frontline politics by contesting for the mayoral seat. Candidates have until 15 June to submit their applications.<\/div>\n
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She was mayor of Cape Town from 2006 to 2009 and became the premier of the Western Cape from 2009 to 2019.<\/div>\n
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With South Africans set to head to the polls next year, social media users are invested in the conversation, with many drawing comparisons between Zille and the ANC\u2019s Dada Morero. One of them even launched a poll asking Joburg residents who they would prefer as the city’s first citizen.<\/div>\n
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Activist and poet, Ntsiki Mazwai, has been among the loudest critics, saying Zille failed the Western Cape and would do no good for South Africa’s economic hub.<\/div>\n
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She’s described the 4-year-old as worse than President Cyril Ramaphosa.<\/div>\n
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“She is a white supremacist and if you look at the Western Cape, you see that black people are abused there,” says the poet. “Helen Zille comes from a traumatic past for black people. She can go and retire, she has played her part to make sure that imperialists are eating and not feeding the people of this land, so we don’t want Helen Zille,” she adds.<\/div>\n
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WE DON\u2019T WANT HELEN ZILLE AS THE MAYOR OF jHB!!!!!!
\nThat would be a huge and scary mistake which would impact the black masses negatively. pic.twitter.com\/91jxo1W0uM<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 NtsikiMazwaiMedia (@ntsikimazwai) June 9, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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However, author and media personality, Khaya Dlanga, believes that Zille is the perfect fit for the job.<\/span><\/div>\n
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“Joburg, as it stands, is crying out for that kind of leadership. If this happens, the ANC will lose Johannesburg for good. And when Joburg goes, so does Gauteng. People are tired,” he adds.<\/div>\n
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The author believes that Zille offers a real, visible alternative, adding that this might not be the truth that many like to hear.<\/div>\n
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Helen Zille is considering running for Joburg mayor in 2026 apparently. Let me tell you now, if she does, she will win. And not by accident. Like it or not, she has a proven record of turning a city around. Just look at Cape Town. You can debate her politics all you want, but she\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Khaya Dlanga (@khayadlanga) June 8, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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People\u2019s issue with Helen Zille isn\u2019t that she\u2019s white. It\u2019s that she\u2019s defended apartheid and colonialism<\/p>\n

And her political party has ruled over the Western Cape where poor areas have been left to rot and the DA is actively courting more digital nomads who are raising prices\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/ldPdWGWIW9<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Uppity African \ud83c\udf49 (@naledimashishi) June 9, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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The legacy of Helen Zille in the Western Cape includes a Cape Town for whites and a Cape Town for blacks. pic.twitter.com\/0U8oW4k4GK<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Gcobani Ndzongana (@gndzongana) June 9, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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The legacy of Helen Zille in the Western Cape includes a Cape Town for whites and a Cape Town for blacks. pic.twitter.com\/0U8oW4k4GK<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Gcobani Ndzongana (@gndzongana) June 9, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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What exactly did Zille do for residents in khayelitsha or Gugulethu for her to be the best hope for joburg.
\nOne of the most dangerous cities in South Africa and the world is located in the city of cape town.
\nHelen Zille being the mayor of Jhb would be the worst thing to happen. https:\/\/t.co\/gASpgSrXtw<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Melanin_Mmaps (@Melanin_Mmaps) June 8, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Bo Khaya Dlanga lost what little relevance they had a very long time ago and now they wana flood us with lengthy posts about Helen Zille being the mayor of Johannesburg coz that plays into a world where they’ve set themselves up as the “special ones”.<\/p>\n

\u2014 a Nativ (@RoninDexx) June 9, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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People\u2019s issue with Helen Zille isn\u2019t that she\u2019s white. It\u2019s that she\u2019s defended apartheid and colonialism<\/p>\n

And her political party has ruled over the Western Cape where poor areas have been left to rot and the DA is actively courting more digital nomads who are raising prices\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/ldPdWGWIW9<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Uppity African \ud83c\udf49 (@naledimashishi) June 9, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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There is nothing special about @helenzille<\/a> and her governance skills or lack thereof. She is mediocre like the rest of the ANC leaders she likes mocking.<\/p>\n

In 2006, when Zille took over as Mayor of Cape Town from Nomaindia Mfeketo (ANC), unemployment rate was 15%.<\/p>\n

By the time she\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/pAOX2ZhNrX<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Sentletse \ud83c\uddff\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddf7\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddf1\ud83c\udde7 (@Sentletse) June 9, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n