ActionSA has shut down the idea of a government of national unity that is being mooted after the electoral outcome that resulted in no party winning an outright majority, saying the idea will render opposition watchdogs toothless.
National chairperson Michael Beaumont expressed this view at a party briefing after a two-day election post mortem meeting to outline its future.
“We are not involved in the question of the government of local unity,” he said.
Who is going to watch when the watchdogs have gone into bed with the government?
— Michael Beaumont, ActionSA national chairperson
“Who is going to watch when the watchdogs have gone into bed with the government? We've seen the importance of an opposition and a strong media in our country. The reality is when the opposition is in bed with the government, you have a serious question regarding what is going to transpire.”
Beaumont and his party fear that smaller parties might lose their important opposition voice because of the arrangement that could see them being allocated seats and privileges in the executive.
Since its electoral debut at the 2021 local government elections, ActionSA said it has learnt valuable lessons about what makes for stable coalitions and warns that the government of national unity path may not work.
“From the perspective of a party with leaders who have been in coalition governments and understanding how they actually work, when you have people who are facing a conflict of interest scenario — where doing what is right requires accountability and opposition exposing wrongdoing — but at the same time you're exposing the wrongdoing of the party that is giving you your seats, positions, salary and blue lights that come along with the perks of government, then you're conflicted.
“You're going to face a decision whether to collapse the government or have accountability — and compromises will get made,” said Beaumont.
The party, which amassed just over 630,000 votes in the recent polls, said its national chair, Beaumont, and leader Herman Mashaba won't be taking up the six parliamentary seats they have received.
They've opted for other representatives to occupy these seats in the National Assembly and to focus on positioning themselves as a constructive opposition while the duo sets their sights on local government elections in 2026.
Beaumont said they will become the strongest voice of opposition at a time when the opposition is compromised and the executive is not able to hold itself accountable.
“It becomes a slippery slope that erodes the opposition in South Africa, which is precisely why we say time will tell. But what we can say is that someone needs to be a strong opposition in South Africa and we are willing to do it. We imagine that other political parties will join us, especially if the approach is going to be that of a government of national unity.
“Our role going forward can be categorised as a constructive opposition. If good proposals that are ethical and serve the interests of South Africa come before the desks of our parliamentary representatives, they will receive our support. But when bad proposals that are compromised and that are the product of political posturing come before us, we will reject them.”
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