Mashaba says ActionSA has replaced ANC as the hope of ‘black’ South Africans

Mashaba says his team of negotiators has already begun engagements with the ANC on coalitions. ActionSA president Herman Mashaba says ActionSA is the new hope of black people in South Africa. He said his party has dipped into the ANC’s constituency in most townships across the province in the recent local government elections. Mashaba told The Citizen that the ANC was the hope of black people before 1994, but the party has betrayed its constituency. “I am on record saying that ActionSA is a party that is going to bring back dignity to all black people. “For centuries, black people were left off the table. What we are now saying is that we need them on the table. Our people thought that the ANC was going to help them achieve this, but the ANC betrayed us,” he said. Mashaba said his party believes in a non-racial and united South Africa. However, he said his party wants to bridge the gap between black people and white people in the country. Coalition talks with the ANC Despite his opinion of the ANC, Mashaba said he would lean towards a coalition with the ANC in municipalities rather than an arrangement with the DA. “If you want an unstable relationship, work with the DA. They have a superior logic problem,” he said. Mashaba said his party has already begun coalition talks with the ANC leadership. DA ultimatum However, he said nothing has been concluded yet. He told The Citizen that he has given the DA an ultimatum before the two parties can start talking. The first one is to remove Helen Zille from Johannesburg and the second is to remove Cilliers Brink from the leadership in the City of Tshwane. Mashaba described both Zille and Brink as racists and disrespectful. “I cannot justify taking the votes I got from black people and taking them to racists,” he said. He said his relationship with Zille has broken down to the point that he told her at a public gathering that she should never talk to him “for the rest of her life”. He said when he was a DA mayor in Johannesburg, the party had treated him like “a boy”. “I am a man now; I am not a boy. It is very hard to negotiate with people who think that way,” he said. Tshwane coalition Meanwhile, Mashaba said ActionSA’s coalition with the ANC and EFF in Tshwane was a success. Mashaba’s party grew by 13%, gaining 48 seats in council. He told The Citizen that he is proud of the work that Mayor Nasiphi Moya has done in the metro. “Nasiphi has demonstrated what ActionSA can do when we are in power and I am proud of her,” he said. Meanwhile, the Sunday Times reported on Wednesday that President Cyril Ramaphosa had told the ANC’s national working committee (NWC) that they should explore coalition options that do not include the DA. According to the report, Ramaphosa’s line on the negotiations could be backed by the party’s national executive committee (NEC) when it meets on Thursday to discuss the election outcomes. There are also reports that the party’s leadership in Gauteng favours working with ActionSA across the province. Despite this, The Citizen understands that there are some DA members who believe working with the ANC in Johannesburg could be more stable than working with ActionSA. The DA is currently the leading party in Johannesburg in terms of votes. It received 34.79%, the ANC received 20.25% and ActionSA came in third with 16.27%. Mbeki appeals for reflection on ANC decline Meanwhile, former ANC president Thabo Mbeki, in a recent podcast with Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, said the ANC must analyse what led to the party’s decline in the local government elections. “Leadership is elected for a full term. And in this term, we have had our own ups and downs, in particular, the last election and this election. It requires deep reflection by the leadership of the ANC,” he said.