Brutal attack on Herman Mashaba

Cilliers Brink, the DA’s Tshwane Mayoral Candidate in the 2026 elections, has launched a brutal attack on ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba.

Brink is a prominent Democratic Alliance (DA) leader who has held leadership positions at both the local and national levels.

He entered public office at 24 when he was elected as a DA councillor in the City of Tshwane in 2011.

Following the 2016 municipal elections, he was appointed as a member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Corporate and Shared Services.

He transitioned to national politics in 2019, serving as a Member of Parliament in the National Assembly from 2019 to 2023.

He was a member of the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) and served as the DA’s national spokesperson.

Brink returned to local governance and was elected as the Executive Mayor of the City of Tshwane on 28 March 2023, leading a multi-party coalition.

However, in September 2024, he was ousted after a successful motion of no confidence brought forward by the ANC and supported by former coalition partner ActionSA.

He remained a prominent figure in the DA. In April 2026, Brink was elected as a Deputy Federal Chairperson of the Democratic Alliance.

The DA announced Brink as its mayoral candidate for Tshwane ahead of the November 2026 local government elections.

He continues to serve as a councillor in the metro and has been a vocal critic of the current mayor and her team’s performance.

Brink pointed to many failures, including power outages, poor service delivery, potentially corrupt water tanker contracts, and service delivery problems.

He also highlighted financial challenges in Tshwane. “We cannot allow Tshwane to be hollowed out before the November elections. Let’s keep the pressure,” he said

His campaign for mayor centres around political stability, structural municipal reforms, and long-term infrastructure investment.

Cilliers Brink attacks Herman Mashaba and Action SA

Cilliers Brink launched a scathing attack on ActionSA founder and leader, Herman Mashaba, in a recent social media post.

“Imagine the disappointment of folks who voted for Herman Mashaba and ActionSA in the 2021 local government election,” he said.

“In his brash, blustering style, Mashaba promised to end the venality and corruption of the ANC in Gauteng’s metros.

“He professed to be a disruptor and invited the support of voters who were ‘gatvol of politics’.”

However, he said, Mashaba and his people have turned out to be the biggest con artists or charlatans of them all.

“Instead of a counterforce to the ANC and its deployed cadres and tenderpreneurs, ActionSA has become its stooges, enablers, and collaborators,” he said.

He said that Mashaba struck a deal with the ANC and the EFF in Tshwane, bringing the city’s DA-led coalition to a fall.

“In terms of the deal, the ANC and the EFF would dominate the mayoral committee, but ActionSA’s Nasiphi Moya would serve as mayor, he said.

He said that politics is affecting the city’s management, with Tshwane Mayor Nasiphi Moya calling for an investigation into city manager Johann Mettler.

“City manager Johann Mettler has a sterling reputation for good governance and standing up to corruption,” said Brink.

He said that the 21 complaints brought against Mettler by the EFF, which sparked the investigation, were all allegations without substantiation.

Brink said the real reason they want to get rid of Mettler is because he has blocked a series of irregular tenders.

“There is every reason to believe that some of these companies are illicit funders of the parties in Tshwane’s ANC-led coalition,” he said.

He said that what has happened in Tshwane is a warning to voters in the run-up to the 2026 local government election.

“Do not trust Mashaba, or let him anywhere near government in Gauteng’s metros, or anywhere else for that matter,” Brink said.

ActionSA strikes back

Michael Beaumont, ActionSA’s national chairperson, responded to Brink’s allegations, calling them “DA politicking”.

“The efforts by the opposition DA in Tshwane to sensationalise standard governance reports should be called out for what it is, politricking,” he said.

He said that these governance reports address allegations levelled against Municipal Manager Johann Mettler.

“These allegations automatically trigger a process outlined in Regulation 5(2) of the Disciplinary Regulations for Senior Managers,” he explained.

It therefore follows that the tabling of these allegations and the initiation of an investigation into the matter are prescribed in law.

“It is also basic good governance to ensure that the most senior official in a municipality is beyond reproach,” Beaumont said.

“The DA is presumably aware of this, having dealt with similar matters during the 8 years in which they governed the city.”

He highlighted that ActionSA did not file these allegations against the municipal manager. “It was the EFF that did so,” he said.

“No amount of theatrics from the DA opposition will see ActionSA looking the other way should investigations warrant consequence management,” he said.

He added that Brink and the DA’s official record of government in Tshwane reflects bankruptcy, broken services, and adverse audits.

He added that Mayor Moya has led the city’s government with an appreciation for its complexity, which is why the city has begun to turn around.

“The reality is that every day that the turnaround of Tshwane continues, Brink and the DA’s failures are being exposed,” he said.

“Part of this turnaround is ensuring that any and all complaints are investigated, according to the legally prescribed processes.”