ActionSA Welcomes Athol Trollip as Eastern Cape Provincial Chairperson
9 February 2022
ActionSA is proud to announce Athol Trollip as our newest high-profile member to join our ranks. He will be taking up the role as our Provincial Chairperson of the Eastern Cape.
This announcement is one that engenders pride for ActionSA. It represents the ongoing effort of building a deeper leadership team and diversifying ActionSA’s brand.
The significance of this moment lies in its intent to build leadership in the 9 provinces of pour country that can activate our structures ahead of the all important 2024 national and provincial election. After meeting our structures in the Eastern Cape yesterday, it is clear that our teams are rearing to go and are very pleased to work under Athol’s leadership.
This is where ActionSA's journey into the heart of the Eastern Cape begins.
— Herman Mashaba (@HermanMashaba) February 9, 2022
No better man for the job.
Thank you @KwaneleMketeni for this wonderful photo. pic.twitter.com/om7DJPAtcN
Athol has born and raised here in the Eastern Cape. His family has deep roots with liberal politics in South Africa dating back to the United Party and equally deep roots in farming. Athol’s political career dates back to 1980 in the PFP.
In his considerable career Athol has:
served as a Councillor in the Amathole District Council
a Leader of the Opposition in the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature;
the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly;
Provincial Leader of the Democratic Alliance in the Eastern Cape;
National Chairperson of the Democratic Alliance; and
the Mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay
Athol’s involvement in politics and agriculture has made him a well-known figure throughout the Eastern Cape able to converse fluently with its residents in isiXhosa, English, and Afrikaans.
Much of what makes Athol an asset to ActionSA and the project we are embarking upon cannot be contained in a resume. Athol is a brave South African that I came to respect immediately when I met him. He is principled and honest and one of those rare type of people in politics who says what he means and means what he says.
In our discussions ahead of his joining ActionSA, it was evident that we share a common appreciation of the duty that we have to serve South Africa in the task of removing the ANC in 2024. We discussed the values and policies of ActionSA and our plans going forward, and we are delighted that Athol has opted into building the political alternative that South Africans need.
In the coming weeks and months, I am confident that ActionSA will become a force to be reckoned with in the Eastern Cape as we mount our campaign for 2024.
Issued by Herman Mashaba, President, ActionSA, 9 February 2022
