ActionSA in trouble as 22 leaders leave party

ActionSA is the latest party to experience turbulence as strife engulfs almost all the major political parties in the country.

This after the party’s North West leaders resigned en masse in protest.

A total of 22 ActionSA provincial executive committee (PEC) members have deserted the party led by Herman Mashaba.

ActionSA stands by leader

Instead of entertaining the aggrieved members, Mashaba preferred to stick with his self-recruited ally and a traditional leader, the party’s North West chair Kwena Mangope, who is the son of the late Bophuthatswana leader, Lucas Mangope.

The 22 PEC members resigned with immediate effect on Wednesday, citing Mangope’s dictatorial leadership style.

“We are doing so as individuals and as a collective. Moreover, we will also be encouraging ordinary members who fall under the banner of Save North West Campaign to do the same,” they said in a statement.

“The circumstances that have led to us resigning are due to the party’s intention to purge and threaten members of this group with notices/letters to invoke certain clauses of the party’s interim constitution to terminate our membership.”

After the group complained about Mangope, they were allegedly threatened with disciplinary action by the party’s senate, the highest decision-making body between party national congresses.

They were given a few hours to state why no action should be taken against them. But the members decided to resign immediately.

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Group tried to air their grievances

Their transgression was to request a meeting with Mangope to address governance issues, the 2024 electoral performance in North West, his alleged dictatorial tendencies and the purging of senior provincial leaders.

They also sought an audience with Mashaba, party national chair Michael Beaumont and the senate, to air their grievances against Mangope.

But all that to no avail, “despite us following all protocol”, they said.

Among the accusations against Mangope, ActionSA’s sole member of the North West provincial legislature in Mahikeng, were that he dismissed and caused resignations of a large number of provincial, regional and constituency leaders unconstitutionally and unprocedurally.

He then hired his own people.

ActionSA spokesperson Samkelo Mgobozi said: “We are aware of this matter and are duly following due process and that’s all we’ll say at this time.”

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