Mashaba gets behind Phalatse but all bets are off in 2024 elections

ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has come out in “full support” of embattled Johannesburg mayor Mpho Phalatse amid efforts to pass a vote of no confidence in her.

Phalatse is facing attempts by the ANC to remove her in council, as well as scrutiny from inside her party, the DA, with officials openly questioning her capacity to be mayor. She needs the support of Mashaba’s ActionSA to remain in power.

Johannesburg speaker Vasco da Gama was removed via a motion of no confidence two weeks ago despite being a DA councillor, which dominates the city’s governing coalition. This comes after “rogue” coalition councillors, including some from ActionSA, joined their ANC and EFF colleagues to vote against him.

Mashaba said Phalatse has his support because “she is doing the best she can, under the circumstances”.

In a wide-ranging interview with Business Day, he maintained that “unseating the ANC from power” is his top priority, but he also said working within a coalition-led government with the “arrogant and dismissive” DA in Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni is no easy task.

“I am not in the business of making friends; we are here to make a difference in society. The DA is a difficult partner, but we are trying our best to hold them accountable in Joburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni,” Mashaba said.

Under Mashaba, electoral newcomer ActionSA won significant support in the 2021 local government elections in Johannesburg and helped the DA block the ANC from regaining power in all of Gauteng’s metropoles. However, having launched the party just months before the vote, ActionSA did not contest all municipalities in 2021. 

A number of the DA’s political heavyweights, among them Athol Trollip and John Moody, as well as funders, have also switched allegiance to ActionSA. Mashaba said it has given the new party the confidence to contest every province in the 2024 general elections. 

He predicted ActionSA will surpass the DA and EFF and emerge as SA’s second-largest political party in 2023. “We believe coalitions are still necessary as one-party dominance is not good for democracy,” he said.

While the governing ANC has lost electoral support in successive elections, putting the party on track to lose its electoral majority in 2024, other parties, such as the DA and EFF, have also struggled to grow as increasing numbers of South Africans choose to stay away from the polls.

The EFF, COPE and the UDM did well in the first elections they each contested, but have struggled to maintain momentum to grow in subsequent polls. Mashaba said ActionSA’s strategy is to register those who have “given up” on voting and spend every available cent on building party structures.  

“We have no offices; every cent we get goes to the ground. We will have strong leadership in every province and representatives on every street come 2024,” he said.

On ActionSA’s governance priorities, Mashaba said “bringing back the rule of law” is central.

“We must prepare ourselves for the democratic removal of the ANC and then change the law to give the president less power. From the [National Prosecuting Authority] downwards, the heads of those organisations must not be appointed by the [governing party],” Mashaba said.

He also said ActionSA stands against “race-based” legislation. “If you grow the economy everyone will benefit. People must start from the ground up. We must create an environment that grows the economy,” Mashaba said.

He remained unapologetic about his call for a clampdown on illegal foreign nationals, saying the party is merely calling for existing laws to be enforced.

omarjeeh@businesslive.co.za