ActionSA leaders flock back after 2021 exodus

Dozens of disgruntled ActionSA members who left the party after the 2021 local government elections have returned.

Party members left in 2021 following reported disputes over positions and unfair candidate selection processes in the party.

However, these members are now back to help the party in the 2026 local government elections (LGE).

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Renewal and rebuilding structures

Speaking during a media briefing in Johannesburg on Thursday, ActionSA Gauteng Chairperson Funzi Ngobeni said the party is on a mission to renew its structures in the province.

“We are on a path to rebuild and strengthen our party. We come from a bruising election and we did not do as well as we wanted to.

“What we are doing today is part of that rebuilding; welcoming our activists who worked with us in the 2021 elections.”

Ngobeni said the party will go back to the ground, launching structures in wards and doing door-to-door campaigns.

“We also want to do a lot of training for our activists’ induction and training in terms of our constitution and candidate selection policies.”

ActionSA’s candidate selection processes

Ngobeni said some activists left because they were not rewarded for their performance after the 2021 LGE. He said this will change.

“We now want to ensure that we correct those wrongs by rewarding good performance.”

Ngobeni said the performance of the current ActionSA councillors will also be monitored.

“They will be put on terms. We will not have councillors sitting in chairs and not doing anything to push the organisation forward.”

A look towards 2026

Ngobeni said the party’s Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) will have a meeting in November where a document to gauge performance will be produced.

This document will be used to assess activists and those in public office over the next six months.

“This forms a part of rewarding performance.”

He urged the activists to campaign hard and increase the party’s support towards 2026.

“When we speak to the voters, we must be able to speak their language. We must identify issues that affect them directly.”

ActionSA performed better than expected as a new party in the 2021 elections.

The party was launched in 2020 but was able to gain 44 seats in Johannesburg, 15 in Ekurhuleni and 19 in Tshwane.

However, a battle over positions nearly split the party into two.

Key player in SA politics

ActionSA President Herman Mashaba, who attended the briefing, said he hopes to increase the party’s number of seats in municipalities.

However, he said he does not believe ActionSA will get an outright majority in the municipal elections.

Nevertheless, he said he wants his party to be influential in the formation of local governments.

“I must not be naïve that we will get an outright majority. If you look at the political dynamics of our country, you will see that South Africa has entered into an era of coalition.”

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