ActionSA Launches Elections Campaign for an Inclusive and Prosperous South Africa

9 September 2021  

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Today, ActionSA President, Herman Mashaba, officially launched our 2021 Local Government Election Campaign as we intensify our fight to set the country on path of economic prosperity, safety and shared development by fixing our cities as wrestle the country from the clutches of those who would rather see it destroyed for their own narrow benefit. 

The simple truth is that South Africans are gatvol of the ANC’s corruption, looting and cadre deployment; tired of their load-shedding and service delivery failures across the country; gatvol of rising unemployment and poverty whilst ANC cadres enrich themselves; tired of crime and lawlessness; and gatvol of the gross incompetence of a government that is not committed to public service.

ActionSA wields a serious track record in government that most established political parties cannot compete with. Our collective governance experience means that we will be able to present compelling blueprints for these municipalities, and voters will be able to believe in their credibility based on what has been observed in the past. This cannot be overstated in an era where South Africans have grown wary of the promises of political parties.

In this campaign ActionSA stands above other parties because we have a track record of success in local government. In a party that is just a year old, we have former Mayors, MMCs, Chiefs of Staff, a Chief of Metro Police, a CEO of SALGA, Chairpersons of Portfolio Committees, and the list goes on and on.

In just three year, ActionSA President, Herman Mashaba, began turning Johannesburg around:

R2 billion was redirected from wasteful political luxuries in the form of international travel, conferences, self-promoting advertising and the like, and re-directed to electricity, water, roads and housing such that the share of these priorities in the capital budget increased from 58% to 71%. This investment started the first halting of the decline of our infrastructure and began to reverse the backlogs, reduce the power outages, lessen the bursts in our water pipes and resurface over 900kms of roads.

An anti-corruption unit was set up under the leadership of a former Scorpion, and capacitated with the best former prosecutors, investigators, accountants and policemen and women. They investigated over 6000 cases of wrongdoing, totalling more than R35 billion and affected over 700 arrests. Under the ANC, these have been swept under the carpet. With the support of voters, we will, once again, make fighting corruption a core part of our work within the city.

An inner-City rejuvenation project began taking abandoned and city-owned properties and giving them to the private sector to produce world-class, low-cost, affordable accommodation close to economic opportunities. This produced plans for 32 billion in investment, 25 000 accommodation units and 12 000 construction sector jobs. The same was being done with abandoned factories. Johannesburg then, and across South Africa, has abandoned factories that lie unused – tombstones of once-thriving businesses that employed South Africans. These too underwent a process to offer these factories to the private sector based on the value of their investment, the length of their commitment and how many jobs they would create.

A project to extend the hours of operation at City-operated clinics saw 26 clinics extended late into the night and over weekends. Mobile clinics were procured to take medical services to communities with limited access and the first city-operated drug rehabilitation facilities were opened. 

The biggest expansion of a metro police force in recent times expanded the JMPD by over 50% in our final days in office. This added to the impact of specialized units to pursue drug dealers, address illegal connections and establish municipal courts.

This is our track record in government. It is a guarantee that we can offer real services to people who have grown weary of broken promises and political lies. This is the offer we bring to all residents of Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, eThekwini, Newcastle and KwaDukuza.

Whether you live in these cities, or other municipalities in the Northern Cape or Eastern Cape, it is the guarantee we will bring voters in the 2024 Elections.

However, for this change to happen, every single South African must vote in the coming local government elections. Every South African must vote to expel the ANC from office. We will be our own liberators from the clutches of that criminal enterprise which is masquerading as a political party.

As ActionSA we continue to inspire hope in South Africans, reminding them of the power that resides in their hands, our hands and with each passing day, we reach more and more South Africans who share our vision for a prosperous, safe country that unleashes the potential of every South African. We have every confidence that the team of talented, capable, ethical leaders we have assembled will deliver on our electoral offer when voters elect ActionSA governments into power in the coming election.

Issued by Herman Mashaba, ActionSA President, 9 September 2021