South African political party
ActionSA is a South African political party established by a former mayor of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba, soon after he left the Democratic Alliance.[7]
The party states that it has been established to "set South Africa free from the restraints of a broken political system and build a prosperous, non-racial and secure future for all its people."[8] and that it follows the ideal of "Act as One to build a prosperous, non-racial and secure future for all South Africans."[9]
The party has been extremely vocal for calls on tougher immigration policy and, through its leader, Herman Mashaba, has often found itself at the centre of controversy around xenophobic rhetoric and violence in South Africa.[10]
Formation
Party launch
On the 29 August 2020, a former Mayor of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba, announced that he had started a new political party, which would be known as ActionSA and was intending to run for the three Gauteng metro cities (Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane) in the 2021 local government elections.[9] The party soon gained notoriety as it brought together former politicians who were dissatisfied with big parties such as the DA and ANC. Makhosi Khoza, Vytjie Mentor and David Tembe were amongst the former ANC politicians who joined the newly formed ActionSA.[7] On 5 October 2020, former DA provincial leader, John Moodey, announced that he had joined ActionSA.[11][12] Soon, thereafter, he was followed by numerous former DA councillors, along with leaders like Abel Tau, Funzi Ngobeni and former DA Johannesburg youth leader, Lincoln Machaba.[13][14]
Noting how many of its leaders came from the DA, the party's inaugural spokesperson said that "the party was not formed as part of a detraction for the DA, but the need to create an alternative towards a shared future."[15]
The party was quickly criticised by then newly elected leader of the DA, John Steenhuisen, who noted that every time a voter supports a small party like ActionSA, "the net result is the strengthening of the ANC. We've been through this scenario so many times. As soon as the elections are over, voters who tested the waters with one of these new start-ups realise they got zero bang for their buck from a one-man party with a regional footprint, and they return to the DA. But by then the damage is done for the next five years." Steenhuisen's critique was not at these party's policies but rather that they are "too small" to impart any change.[16] This criticism was followed by Steenhuisen's chief-of-staff's opinion piece which labelled ActionSA as "EFF-lite in disguise."[17] In an open letter to Steenhuisen, Moodey criticised this opinion piece and what he called the DA's "race denialism" and defended ActionSA's vision and its leaders reasons from leaving the DA. Moodey claimed that "Herman left the DA because it gave up on the project of being a serious political party that could challenge and unseat the ANC."[18]
IEC registration
A month after the party was launched, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) rejected the party's application to register itself as an official political party.[19] This was due to another party, Party of Action, claiming that ActionSA had stolen its logo. On this claim, Mashaba noted that "[t]he IEC’s decision is based on a perceived similarity with another political party and the use of the SA flag in our logo. We have already written to the IEC, initiating our right to appeal their decision as a result of its incorrect application of the law. We regard the IEC to have acted irrationally in their decision. We submit that our identifying features remain sufficiently different from the Party of Action (POA), a political party that has never contested elections before despite registering."[19]
The party's appeal was again rejected by the IEC on the same basis.[20][21]
On 13 December 2020, the party was officially registered with the IEC, notably under a new logo.[22][23][24]
Ideology and principles
Values
According to the party's website, the party has seven core values:[25]
- Electoral reform (Direct democracy)
- Economic prosperity
- Non-racialism
- Quality education
- Social justice
- Ethical leadership
- Rule of law
The party's current main policies focus on what it calls the solution blueprints on:
- Climate change and the environment[26]
- Electoral reform[27]
- Professional public service[28]
- Ethical leadership[29]
- Immigration[29]
- Rule of law[30]
- Land reform and housing[31]
- Quality education[32]
- Social justice[33]
- Non-racialism[34]
- Economic prosperity[34]
Election results
Municipal elections
In the 2021 municipal elections, the party contested a limited number of municipalities, namely the Cities of Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni in Gauteng as well as eThekwini, KwaDukuza and Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal. It won 90 seats in the six Municipal councils, including a ward in Newcastle.[35]
| Election
|
Votes
|
%
|
Seats
|
| 2021[36]
|
547,905
|
2.34%
|
90
|
By-elections
In July 2023, ActionSA participated in a City of Johannesburg by-election in Ward 7. The party grew its support from 5% to 14%, finishing third behind the Patriotic Alliance and African National Congress.[37]
