ActionSA launches its manifesto in Newtown

ActionSA leader and former Johannesburg Mayor, Herman Mashaba is expected to launch the party’s election manifesto in Newtown, Johannesburg on Wednesday.

Members and supporters of ActionSA have gathered in Newtown, Johannesburg, chanting songs in support of party leader, Herman Mashaba ahead of the manifesto launch.

With the local government elections set to take place on November 1, Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s proclamation of the date, political parties are going all out to garner votes.

November 1 gazetted as the election date

The party is set to only contest 3 metros in Gauteng with Mashaba availing himself as a mayoral candidate in Johannesburg.

Mashaba says the SOE has failed to supply electricity without the intervention of municipalities.

“As part of our people-centric approach, ActionSA will begin the process of negotiating all Eskom-supplied areas to be handed over to our municipalities. Communities who are supplied directly by Eskom have been abused for far too long. They are residents of these municipalities and yet they are treated as second class by a failed SOE while the municipalities shrug their shoulders. As we speak right now, there are communities in Soweto that have been without electricity for months. People who are willing to pay cannot even access electricity because all communities are painted with the same brush against every principle in our Constitution.”

In its promise to South Africans, the party says it will tackle illegal immigration in the country.

Despite much criticism for this stance, Mashaba says he is unapologetic about rooting out illegal foreign nationals in the country.

During his 3 year tenure as Johannesburg Mayor, Mashaba vowed to root out illegal foreign nationals in the country. While he has received strong criticism for his stance on foreign nationals, it remains unchanged. Mashaba says the party will establish a dedicated unit within the metro police department to process any undocumented foreign nationals and arrest them.

Mashaba has lambasted the Home Affairs Department saying it has failed to safeguard the country’s borders.

“When addressing the law, ActionsSA will not shy away from what needs to be said about illegal immigration. Fellow South Africans, let me be very clear because there are those who want to silence us by mischaracterising our position on this very important matter. As a fellow South African, I want the people of the world to come to South Africa ad visit the municipalities we govern but we must come here legally… They must come here legally and obey our laws while they’re here just as you’re required to have visas or permits when you visit foreign countries. I believe the same should apply to those who need to visit South Africa. The failure of the national government to manage our borders is a deepening crisis and we cannot remain unresponsive in local government.”

South Africans are heading to the polls in about five weeks.

The video below gives an update of ActionSA manifesto launch:

The party intends to contest in six municipalities, Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, eThekwini, kwaDukuza and New Castle. Among the mayoral candidates for the party is former ANC MP, Dr Makhosi Khoza who was vocal against State Capture during former President, Jacob Zuma’s presidency.

Mashaba believes Khoza’s standing as a mayoral candidate in eThekwini as well as former ANC MP, Vytjie Mentor in the party strengthens its case as a party against corruption.

Mashaba says the party will establish an anti-corruption unit in the very municipality it governs.

“When I served the people of Johannesburg, I established an anti-corruption unit and appointed a former scorpion to run it. we recruited the best professionals as investigators and they were given their mandate to do their work without political interference. the outcome of this process was more than 6-thousand cases investigated, totalling R35-billion in transactions and over 700 arrests. This, fellow South Africans is the Action track record that you can believe when we say there will be such a unit in every municipality we govern.”

In the latest survey by marketing firm, Ipsos – about 1.1% of people indicated that they would vote for Action SA. The party is one of four parties the survey says received the support of above 1% including the IFP, the ACDP and the Freedom Front Plus. Mashaba says he is confident that the party will perform well when South Africans head to the polls paving a way for the party to ascend to national governance in the general elections in three years’ time.