ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba appears to have finally grasped the adage “there are no permanent friends or enemies, only permanent interests in politics”, judging by his newfound enthusiasm to work with the ANC and unseat the DA in some key metros.
He is moving so fast that ActionSA has already secured a position of a Council speaker in the troubled City of Joburg and has already hinted at the possibility of removing the DA-led government in Tshwane and forming some partnership with the ANC in Ekurhuleni.
How did we get to this point, especially with Mashaba’s firm objective to remove “the corrupt” ANC from public office?
His party’s campaign before the May 2029 elections and the 2021 local government elections hinged on the ticket of not only slashing the ANC’s share of votes but also demanding the arrest of leaders implicated in serious allegations of malfeasance.
“ActionSA wishes to place on record, without any ambiguity, that we will not enter coalitions with the ANC.
We do not believe it is possible to fight corruption, end load shedding, fix our criminal justice system, grow our economy, create jobs or professionalise the public service in coalition with a party that has created these crises in South Africa.
There is no good ANC, or bad ANC. The revelations from the State Capture Commission, and the lack of a plan to end load shedding –which has plagued South Africa for 14 years – makes it clear that South Africa cannot prosper while the ANC is in government,” read a 2022 statement by ActionSA’s national chairperson Michael Beaumont.
To now go to “bed” with the enemy is something that no one really saw coming ... or is it?
The collapse of the Multi-Party Charter, formerly known as the Moonshot Pact, where the DA dumped its partners including ActionSA for the ANC, suggests that rift between these two parties was far from over.
While ActionSA and the DA engage in a power struggle, it is evident that both parties deceived their voters.
Their fight to end ANC rule was in fact to continue it, so long as they also have access to the country’s public resources. Voters will keep this in mind ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
* The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media or IOL.
Cape Times