Mashaba says ‘tenderpreneurs’ cannot be South Africa’s economic policy

Herman Mashaba says municipalities should develop internal skills and capacity before outsourcing services, while supporting private-sector involvement where government genuinely lacks expertise or outsourcing provides better value.

ActionSA leader and Johannesburg mayoral candidate Herman Mashaba says the government must build its own capacity to deliver essential services instead of relying on private contractors to perform functions it requires permanently.

“There are some policy questions on which political parties can legitimately disagree. There are others where the consequences of getting the answer wrong are so profound that we must be prepared to take a principled and unapologetic position,” he said.

Mashaba said the position was not an attack on the private sector, but that the government had a different responsibility from business and should question why municipalities paid intermediaries to employ people performing permanent functions.

Mashaba pointed to his time as Johannesburg mayor , saying his administration absorbed thousands of security guards and cleaners into permanent City employment.

“If a worker is permanently required to perform a permanent function, there must be a compelling reason why that worker should not be permanently employed.”

He said tenderpreneurs could be paid substantially more than the workers ultimately performing the work.

“That is not empowerment; that is exploitation. And I refuse to accept a system where the politically connected become wealthy while the people actually doing the work remain trapped in insecure employment.”

Mashaba cited protests by more than 300 casual workers at Pikitup’s Randburg depot in July, who he said were demanding permanent employment directly from Pikitup.

He questioned why workers performing refuse collection should remain in insecure employment when Johannesburg would continue to require the service.

“Refuse collection is not a temporary function. Johannesburg will need refuse collection next year. It will need it in five years. It will need it in 20 years.”

Municipalities should first consider whether they could develop the capacity to provide essential services themselves rather than automatically issuing a tender.

ActionSA wanted the government to invest in institutional knowledge and skills, including training artisans and developing engineers, technicians, electricians, plumbers and other professionals within public institutions.

“We need government departments and municipalities that know how to do things themselves.”