LETTER: Reason trumps GNU in Tshwane

It is always hard to respond to an opinion piece that purports to communicate facts while it resorts to personal insults and claims that are not based on truth. This is the situation I find myself in regarding Justice Malala’s “Greed Trumps GNU in Tshwane” (Opinion, October 3-9). It’s even harder to respond when it’s a writer whose analysis of the evolving South African political environment I have always held in high regard. 

In his piece, Malala asks: “Why did Mashaba engineer this coalition coup?” Then he provides his answer: “The answer is simple: leaders without principle.”

I understand the frustration and, in some quarters, anger over the removal of Cilliers Brink as Tshwane mayor. But having taken some time to read the comments by Brink’s supporters on various platforms, it is evident that much of the lashing out has been based on emotion, not facts. 

ActionSA voted in support of Brink to be mayor 18 months ago. We have done our best to work with his administration, keeping our differences out of the public domain. We considered a DA-led Tshwane as a preferable arrangement to one where the ANC would continue with the abuses it’s known for.

We did this, first, because we believed that the ANC was no longer suited to continue running the affairs of our capital city, home to millions of residents for whom service delivery had become a foreign concept, thanks to the ANC’s well-documented failures. Our second motivation was to support an alternative government for Tshwane in partnership with a DA we trusted to work in honesty with us.    

Before the 2024 election, the DA was a key partner in the multiparty charter (MPC), which ActionSA joined. In the run-up to the election, various MPC partners were wary of reported secret talks between the DA and the ANC, to which the DA responded with ambiguous answers, keeping its options open. 

Many people criticised ActionSA’s hard stance on the possibility of working with the ANC. The same people supported the DA’s openness to working with the ANC if the post-election scenario called for such a collaboration.   

Now the ANC has lost its 30-year hold on power. Led by the DA, several former opposition parties, some of which were with us in the MPC, have opted to get into the ANC-led government of national unity (GNU). Not ActionSA. We chose to remain a constructive opposition outside the GNU, as this would enable us to articulate issues that those now comfortably ensconced in the GNU would not be able to.

At the local government level, we assessed the financial performance of the Tshwane metro and, having learnt that the DA had approached the ANC to remove us and take firmer control of the Tshwane government — this has been publicly confirmed by the ANC — we decided to distance ActionSA from supporting the DA mayor and to prepare ourselves to support an ANC initiative to vote him out of office. We did this on condition that ActionSA would play a stronger role in the governance of Tshwane, as we believe that the programme we have proposed for Tshwane has the potential to lead to sustainable recovery and inclusive service delivery for all residents.

Contrary to Malala’s claims, ActionSA did not support the ANC’s ousting of Brink for financial gain. And I do not earn a salary from any level of government.

Those who are interested in the facts that led to ActionSA’s well-considered decision to vote in favour of the ANC’s motion of no confidence in Brink — something we would never do for pure political play, for we fully appreciate the impact of any instability on residents — will appreciate that there is a lot more below the emotional surface than meets the eye. 

ActionSA is determined to continue working with other parties to bring about a truly reliable government for all residents in Tshwane. The political terrain has changed in South Africa. Even ActionSA has had to review its stance on working with parties such as the ANC to remain an impactful political player in our country, guided only by its values. 

We remain open to working with other parties because they represent the will of the voters who supported them, but we shall never again go blindly into any coalition governance arrangement.      

Herman Mashaba
ActionSA president 

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