ActionSA says it will approach future coalition talks based on the specific merits of the people involved, geography and the set of circumstances in the area in question.
This comes after the four-year-old party formed a coalition government with the ANC and EFF in Tshwane last week, having previously vowed it would never coalesce with South Africa’s largest party.
Answering questions from the media on Monday about working with the ANC at local government level while opposing the party at national level, ActionSA national chair Michael Beaumont said there was no contradiction, and while the reconfiguration in Tshwane was “necessary”, it was equally true that the best role ActionSA could play nationally was that of opposition.
ActionSA’s mayoral candidate Nasiphi Moya was elected with the support of the ANC, and in turn appointed a mayoral committee dominated by ANC councillors. Its former coalition partner, the DA, has frowned upon this and predicted that voters will punish the young party at the local government polls in 2026.
“The position we held prior to the May 29 elections, that we won’t work with this one and we won’t work with that one, put ActionSA in a hell of a corner because what do you do then when the people you are working with are failing and now you work with no-one?” he asked.
“In a world of coalitions, you must just sit there in your corner and wait for the next elections. It can’t work that way.
“I think it’s a maturation that we had to undergo as a political party to say we shouldn’t actually say at a broad level we won’t work with all of these different parties. We should say each and every decision on who we will work with and who we won’t should be based on the people, on the municipality or the geography in question.”
Beaumont said it might very well be that in another municipality a situation arises in which the party chooses a different configuration of political parties.
“It has to be always based on the area in question. What was best for the City of Tshwane was not #BrinkOfCollapse (Cilliers Brink) which was very well demonstrated by the fact that the city is bankrupt.
“At the end of the day, another configuration was necessary. It can be equally true that the best role ActionSA can play nationally is a constructive opposition.
“From that point view we must base each decision on its merits and that is what you are going to hear from us going forward, and I don’t think this speaks to contradictions, it speaks to principles that need to be applied to a different set of circumstances that are at play in a particular setting.”
Party leader Herman Mashaba indicated that the party was willing to enter into further coalitions to co-govern municipalities in Gauteng.
He dismissed speculation that the ANC will control Moya, making her its puppet.
“Some people think ActionSA is going to be controlled by forces outside. I can assure you ActionSA is going to lead this multiparty and we are going to succeed, because we have taken a view of running and operating with humility, honesty and ethical leadership and a commitment to the people of Tshwane.
“Are we going to follow the same model in other municipalities? Give us a chance to see if we can use our influence in the City of Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni because that’s where we have the numbers and the people of Gauteng deserve better.”
If ActionSA doesn’t engage on this matter, it would be failing not only the people of Gauteng, but the people of South Africa.
Mashaba said once Tshwane starts delivering services to all its communities, they are going to start negotiations to see how ActionSA can play a role in the turnaround of the City of Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni, “because that is where we have the numbers to make an influence”.
Mashaba said they have accepted that South Africa has entered an era of coalitions and his party will work with parties that are prepared to work with them with respect and humility and without arrogance.
