Cape Town: Despite being a relatively new kid in the political arena of the Western Cape, ActionSA hopes to make a huge impact and win seats in the 2024 general elections.
Formed by former DA member and mayor of Johannesburg Herman Mashaba in 2020, ActionSA says its membership is steadily growing in the province and it has been getting huge attention from the public, particularly in the Cape Metro.
ActionSA Western Cape chairperson Michelle Wasserman said that since her appointment late in 2022, the party had hit the ground running, visiting every region and launching branches.
“ActionSA in the Western Cape is leading in the number of members recruited when compared with other provinces. This should show just how well we are doing. We are launching more than five branches just next week,” Wasserman said.
“We have finalised our Western Cape delegates list for our Inaugural Policy Conference scheduled for September this year, and we are ready to take the concerns of the people of the Western Cape to the conference to ensure their views are heard and that ActionSA’s offer reflects the needs of all South Africans, including the people of the Western Cape.”
Asked about the party’s performance in the recent by-elections, Wasserman said the party had not taken part.
“But we have done extremely well in KwaNongoma in KZN, KwaNobuhle in the EC, and Ennerdale in Johannesburg, and we will contest by-elections in the Western Cape, not just for the sake of it but when we feel it has strategic value for us. Right now, Project 2024 is our focus.”
She said some of the other things ActionSA wanted to address was raw sewage contaminating the ocean and people’s homes; crime and gangs; housing; and ensuring that the people who have been forgotten were heard.
“Cape Town, the only metro in the province, is where most of the Western Cape residents live by a long mile, and it is arguably the most unequal city on the face of the planet. We do not think the incumbent government is doing enough to address that stark inequality, which shows up in various manifestations, such as crime, lack of housing, and crumbling infrastructure,” said Wasserman.
Former journalist and political commentator Linda Kabeni did not see ActionSA performing any better than other parties in the province.
“There’s no indicator that tells us that ActionSA can perform better than the DA, ANC, EFF, GOOD or Patriotic Alliance, and given the fact that when the people of the Western Cape vote, they prefer their own. As much as we are in a democracy, people vote along racial lines, and very few people vote because they are impressed with policy.
“If you want to make an impact in the province politically, you really have to be a special person with convincible ideologies and policies. I don’t see ActionSA offering anything better than the above-mentioned parties,” Kabeni said.