Opposition party the Democratic Alliance (DA) has said its Federal Executive (FedEx) will urgently convene to assess the impact of City of Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba’s resignation on Monday.

Mashaba’s resignation was influenced by Helen Zille’s election as the DA’s Federal Council chairperson, over the weekend.

Mashaba noted resistance from within the DA during his tenure, especially relating to transformation and coalitions, which he said was not in the best interest of the residents of Johannesburg.

DA spokesperson Solly Malatsi assured that Mashaba’s resignation did not signal an end to its commitment to the city or its residents.

“By any measure, the DA and its coalition partners have made significant progress in turning the City around, specifically in the areas of unlocking opportunities, stopping and acting against corruption, and accelerating the delivery of quality services,” he said.

Highlighting some of the party’s achievements under Mashaba’s wing in the last three years, Malatsi said his party had made huge progress by recruiting 1 500 Metro police officers and the City's newly established corruption busting unit, which has recorded over 5 335 cases worth more than R34-billion in transactions.

“We have seen an increase in investments in Johannesburg's inner city from R5-billion to R16.355-billion to build affordable residential units and student accommodation. The latest results of the Household Satisfaction Survey show that more people are satisfied with the services rendered by the City than previous years. Overall, the Household Satisfaction Index increased by 12 points, from 61 in 2017 to 73 in 2019,” Malatsi revealed.

National Treasury‘s preliminary Local Government Revenue and Expenditure Results, published in early September, rank the City of Johannesburg as the top performing metro in South Africa in terms of aggregate revenue at 98.5% of budgeted revenue, and second to Buffalo City in terms of expenditure, at 97.5% of budgeted expenditure.

Malatsi admitted that the South African 'democratic project' was not an easy one to advance.

“[This includes] building a capable State, fighting for nonracialism, pushing for economic redress and inclusion through sustainable programmes and respect for the rule of law. We will not falter in our mission to bring real change to South Africa,” he declared.

The DA thanked Mashaba for his service and wished him well.