South Africa Should Start Preparing for a White President, Researcher Warns

A researcher has told South Africans to get ready for the return of a white president at the Union Buildings sooner than expected. Independent land reform expert Simion Mashego wrote this in an opinion piece published by the Mail & Guardian this week.

Mashego points to the 2026 local government election results. The Democratic Alliance led in three Gauteng cities, including Johannesburg, where Helen Zille was a strong candidate. What shocked many people was the large number of black votes the DA received. In Orania, the only verified white vote went to the EFF.

Mashego says the political bar is very low and black middle-class voters have noticed. He argues that black leaders have failed the people on service delivery, corruption, land reform and economic transformation after 32 years in power. Many black parents already trust white schools with their children’s future while black leaders run the education system. He asks why a white person is fine in the classroom but not in a political office.

He says black political parties have split the black vote by forming many parties that take money from white funders and then criticise those same funders during campaigns. These parties are disorganised and dishonest, he writes. Some black voters have therefore decided to give power to the source of that money.

Mashego also notes that parties like the FF Plus are making inroads in some rural areas and even have a few black candidates. He calls the growing warmth of some black people towards white people abnormal and a sign of betrayal by black leaders. Land remains mostly in white hands, and the top 10 percent of the white population owns over 85 percent of household wealth. Black leaders have not fixed this in more than 30 years, he says.

The piece ends with a warning. If black leaders keep failing on education, the economy and land, South Africans must sleep with one eye open. The hidden white hand and unconscious black leaders will remain serious political problems. Mashego believes blacks should start preparing for a white president if the current path continues.

Source: https://x.com/mailandguardian/status/2120861204369289687?a=RFr5kAbVYUlE-eVpyLQ&s=19