ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba addressed party supporters ahead of the upcoming state of the nation address this week to offer a “vision for hope in the face of our national despair”.
“Over the past three years, SA and the rest of the world has endured pain and suffering unlike that which we have experienced for a very long time — from the pandemic ushering in unprecedented economic hardship, to slow economic growth, global cost of living crisis, unemployment and the Eskom crisis, which worsens by the day,” said Mashaba.
However, the ActionSA leader said the crises are a long time in the making by an uncaring and corrupt government that has deprived South Africans of hope for a better life.
“Today, I say enough! Enough of the hopelessness. Enough of the despair. Enough of the decline. The president will repeat the same empty promises about creating jobs and ending load-shedding. But his words will be hollow and fail to inspire hope, just as the government has failed to inspire hope for the past two decades.
We have the power to give life to that dream, starting with the removal of our failed government in the elections next year.
— Herman Mashaba, ActionSA leader
“For a black man born under the apartheid regime, success was a distant dream. But my grandfather made me determined to overcome my humble origins and aspire to a better life — we were able to succeed despite the obstacles the apartheid government put in our way. But it is undeniable that we were the exception to the rule,” he said.
Mashaba, who founded hair product company Black Like Me in 1985, said the vast majority of people who grew up around him were unable to overcome the barriers to upward mobility placed in their way by a government that did not want them to succeed.
“That’s why in 1994, when we had out first democratic election, I proudly voted for Nelson Mandela’s ANC. I was excited about the prospect of building a nonracial SA where the challenges my partners and I had faced would be a thing of the past.
“I was excited about an explosion of black entrepreneurship that would undoubtedly arise from the demolition of the apartheid-era legislative barriers that had served to limit my opportunities and the opportunities of those around me,” said Mashaba.
However, he realised the dream of shared prosperity “was not held by the ANC government”.
“Instead we witnessed the implementation of legislation aimed at empowering and enriching a new class of politically connected black elite, while the black majority that had been marginalised by the apartheid government was left to struggle on their own.”
Mashaba told ActionSA supporters that three decades after the democratic transition, the country remained defined by apartheid-era spatial planning, unequal access to quality education, unreliable services, dysfunctional infrastructure and a growing gap between the rich and poor.
ActionSA, launched in August 2020, was born out of a public consultation process, according to Mashaba, who said he believed the vast majority of South Africans shared an unwavering commitment to fixing the country.
“South Africans are proud, capable and resilient people. We care deeply about our country and desire to see it work for all. This is why I invite you to share in ActionSA's vision for an inclusive and prosperous future,” Mashaba said.
He called on citizens to imagine a SA where race, gender and sexuality were no longer an indication of the barriers people are likely to face — a country where all citizens lived in dignity with equal opportunities for upward mobility.
“Our vision for SA is a country that has finally been freed from the grip of corruption and is led by an ethical, competent and efficient government and civil service that puts the needs of residents ahead of narrow political agendas — with a caring government that believes the best way out of poverty is through expanding access to quality education, removing historical barriers and unlocking economic opportunity,” said Mashaba.
The former Joburg mayor said ActionSA believed in a future SA with a growing economy and ample opportunities to provide households with the dignity of an income and to free them from “the stranglehold of self-serving labour unions”.
“There is no doubt unions have a role to play, but they cannot have a veto power that protects the employed at the expense of the unemployed. We need a government that prioritises the implementation of innovative, decisive and just economic policies that enables opportunity and empowers businesses to create jobs. A government that has abandoned its obsession with equality of outcome in favour of ensuring true equality of opportunity.”
In his vision for the economy, Mashaba said they would finally remove the constraints to doing business that make it difficult for companies to grow and create jobs.
The ActionSA president said his ideal SA would restore the rule of law and free law-enforcement agencies and the National Prosecuting Authority from the grip of political influence, while an independent Scorpions would again investigate corruption without political interference.
“This is a SA led by a government that understands that dealing with crime, violence and abuse means addressing the underlying socioeconomic causes of lawlessness — not merely addressing the symptoms. A government that is dedicated to addressing the hopelessness and desperation caused by poverty and unemployment.”
Mashaba had a go at Sadtu, sharing his vision of an education system overseen by a competent department of education that is not “beholden” to the teachers' union.
“I envision an education system that ensures we have competent administration in schools and school inspectors who ensure that dedicated principals and teachers are providing quality education.
“This education system will not only prioritise academic outcomes but also focus on empowering young people with tangible skills required to be active participants in the economy and enable them to take control of their destinies,” said the ActionSA leader.
Mashaba, who entered politics in 2016, said the future he envisioned was born of the hopes and aspirations of a nation constrained in its potential by a self-serving government.
He added that his party would embark on a national campaign to share this dream.
“We want to rekindle the hope so many of us felt in 1994 and reinspire those who have become despondent.
“We want to restore confidence in our business community and remind them that government does not have to be the enemy of progress — it can be a valuable partner in unlocking growth,” Mashaba said.
The party is expected to hold its inaugural policy conference later this year.
“We have the power to give life to that dream, starting with the removal of our failed government in the elections next year.”
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.