Public servants should be treated, and fired, like private sector employees

Herman Mashaba said it should be normalised for councillors to be fired for failing to meet Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), like in the private sector.

Responding to the news that eight Johannesburg ActionSA councillors who were fired in September will take the party to court, Mashaba told Newsday that the councillors are “more than welcome to exercise their rights.”

In a letter posted online by a representative of the fired councillors, Elmari Atterbury, they said that their removal was “procedurally flawed and politically motivated.”

The eight councillors were ordered to vacate their seats in the Johannesburg Council at the end of September, which ActionSA said was for failing to meet performance targets.

The councillors argue that this decision was taken without affording the councillors a fair hearing or the opportunity to appeal, which would be in breach of the party’s constitution. 

Their application to the High Court seeks to suspend any attempt by ActionSA to submit replacement names to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) until the legality of the dismissal is determined. 

ActionSA is the third biggest party in Johannesburg after the ANC, with 44 councillors. The African National Congress (ANC) has 91 councillors and the Democratic Alliance (DA) has 71.

Mashaba stated that he is not concerned about the court case, as he noted that these public representatives were given performance targets and agreed to them in writing in September 2024. 

“They were given monthly records of their performances. These targets were originally agreed to be achieved by May 2025, but the party extended them to give them time to reflect on the consequences of non-performance,” he said. 

He said that the councillors cannot say they were surprised by their dismissal, adding that he is on record holding meetings with these councillors on social media. 

The meetings were held to encourage the councillors to take their jobs seriously, he said, adding that the goals were not impossible to achieve, and some of those tasked with the same goals had succeeded.

“We have activists that are not in council, who are unemployed, who over-performed by the end of September,” Mashaba said. 

Mashaba added that the party would be failing if it allowed such underperforming councillors to be in council when “they literally ignore their obligations as public representatives.”

An anonymous ex-councillor who spoke to News24 alleged that the target involved recruiting 200 new members to the party.

Councillors paid with taxpayer money failing to reach KPIs

ActionSA said that it has evidence to prove that the final decision to fire the councillors was informed, and documents were signed by all the councillors agreeing to the performance targets every month.

One cannot be a councillor if you are failing to fulfil your responsibilities, “like in the private sector,” Mashaba said. 

“I’ve been an employer for over 40 years. If people don’t perform, you get rid of them. So the very same thing must apply in politics.”

Councillors who have joined the party only to collect a salary should go and do something else, according to Mashaba.

“We can’t really afford to have people who fail to serve society. They have been paid by public money to represent the public, and they fail to do that,” he said. 

The September purge on underperforming councillors further included three councillors in Tshwane and more in Ekurhuleni. 

Mashaba said that some of the dismissed councillors had failed to meet even 10% of their goals, but continued to earn a salary. 

ActionSA National Chairperson Machael Beaumont told IOL that the fact that the party acts against underperformance and doesn’t reward it sets it apart from other parties.

The ex-councillors maintain that the party failed to follow its own internal disciplinary processes.

They sent two cease and desist letters to ActionSA leadership, cautioning the party against proceeding with replacing them.

The letters were ignored, prompting the councillors to turn to the High Court for urgent intervention. 

The hearing will take place on 28 October in the Johannesburg High Court.