Herman Mashaba said the party had accepted cooperation with the ANC because it was a shift from its previous position and would hold the ANC to account. (Photo: Fani Makhuntsi/Gallo Images via Getty Images)
ActionSA is eyeing powerful speaker positions in Gauteng municipalities after reaching agreements with the ANC to work together in Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni.
Party leader Herman Mashaba told a press conference on Monday that Action SA would forge partnerships with the ANC in the two major metropolitan areas and reconsider its relationship with the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Tshwane.
Friday, Mail & Guardian The paper reported that Kabelo Gwamanda will step down as Johannesburg's executive mayor and ANC regional chair Dada Molero will be elected to the post following an agreement between the ANC and Action SA to jointly govern the capital region.
Speaker Margaret Arnold will also step down from her position to take up a position on the Morello Mayoral Executive Committee, while Gwamanda will become a member of the Mayoral Committee.
At a press conference on Monday, Mashaba confirmed that the two parties had agreed that Action SA would take up the chairperson position and that Gwamanda would step aside from his position to allow the ANC's mayoral candidate, likely regional chair Molero, to be elected.
“What we don't want is the current mayor. The job is way beyond his capabilities. We are not going to dictate who the ANC should nominate. All we have said to the ANC is we want them to nominate someone who can serve the people of Johannesburg,” Mashaba said.
He added that the ANC was committed to ensuring changes were made next week and was confident a vote of no confidence would not be necessary as Mr Gwamanda and Mr Arnold were expected to resign.
“We will call a special council meeting early next week to elect mayor and chairman,” he said.
Mashaba said the party had shifted from its previous position and embraced collaboration with the ANC in order to hold the latter to account.
“We can't just hold them accountable without having the power. With the numbers we have, having chairs in these municipalities and protecting the councils gives us the power to address this issue and not just make noise as the opposition,” he said.
“You can imagine that if we run for Speaker, no report will be presented to Parliament without our approval and no one will be able to hide corruption from the public.”
He said corruption in the country had reached unprecedented levels that were unacceptable and ActionSA was seeking the speakership post to expose corruption. Political parties working with him would be uncomfortable with this, he added.
“If they're uncomfortable with this, then they shouldn't give us these positions because we want to use these positions to hold them accountable,” he said.
Mashaba said ActionSA would only support any proposal the ANC brought to parliament if it was in the people's interest. The party has committed to backing a R2.5 billion loan from the French Development Agency, which is to be used for capital expenditure projects and will be repaid over 15 years.
“We promised to support their loans because they were part of the budget,” Mashaba said, but he wants the ANC to scrap or halt the introduction of the controversial R200 electricity tariff surcharge as a condition of working with him in Johannesburg.
Mashaba has changed his mind about working with the ANC and had previously vowed to step down as party leader if Action SA worked with the ANC.
He told a press conference on Monday that the ANC was not the only corrupt party in the country.
“When we talk about corruption in South Africa, I don't understand why we only talk about the ANC. Yes, the ANC may be the most corrupt but other parties are also protected. It's not just the ANC. We are also in negotiations with the DA in Tshwane. There are serious problems with the DA in Tshwane and we are working with them,” he said.
Mashaba said he had told the Senate, Action SA's highest decision-making body, that he could not guarantee the ANC contingent was not corrupt and that they must ensure that ethical leaders were appointed.
“I can't guarantee that the ANC will behave well and I can't guarantee that people in ActionSA won't engage in corruption,” he said.
The only guarantee Action SA can give is that if a party member is involved in corruption and there is evidence, that person will be “banished”, Mashaba added.