Lungani Zungu
The new kid on the block, Herman Mashaba’s ActionSA, is pulling out all the stops to win the six municipalities it is contesting in the upcoming local elections.
Despite the odds stacked against the one-year-old party, the former DA Joburg mayor claims he is confident of victory next month when his party contests elections for the first time.
ActionSA will contest elections in six municipalities, three each in both KZN and Gauteng.
In KZN, ActionSA is eyeing Newcastle, eThekwini and KwaDukuza. In Gauteng, the party will contest Ekurhuleni, Tshwane and Johannesburg, where Mashaba is the party’s mayoral candidate.
This is the same position he held from 2016 until 2019 while he was still a DA member.
Mashaba told his supporters in Tshwane on Wednesday that he is going all out in Gauteng to woo voters.
“We don’t want to be on the opposition benches, but we want to be the ruling party in the Gauteng municipalities that we are contesting.”
“Days of cadres are over. It’s you who are the bosses and not these politicians. We are giving you the power back,” said Mashaba.
He blasted the ANC and DA, accusing them of failing to govern well in municipalities where they led.
“The days of bluffing people with food parcels are over. When we take over, we will make sure that we give people sustainable jobs,” he said.
Mashaba was previously heavily criticised for saying that illegal foreigners should leave the country, accusing them of being behind crime in townships like Alexandra in Joburg.
Despite the backlash, the former mayor stood his ground.
Earlier this week, he said his party would ensure that there are special units in the metro police to deal with illegal foreigners, should they win any municipalities in the elections.
“We need to reclaim Joburg’s inner city and allow the private sector to build affordable accommodation. We have to get rid of illegal foreigners. This matter is not negotiable, it is in our Constitution,” he said in an interview.
A few weeks ago the party conducted a poll that, they said, placed them at 31% ahead of the ANC with 30% and the DA with 24%. These polls have not been confirmed by an independent polling organisation, but Mashaba claims he is a happy man.
“This shows that people are likely to vote for us, which makes me happy.”
However, it is unknown whether they would garner enough votes to run municipalities or even be kingmakers in some cities. To fail in either task would doom Mashaba’s party to extinction.
Image source: @HermanMashaba
