ActionSA says the upcoming local government elections will be pivotal in South Africa as the party has merged with political organisation Forum 4 Service Delivery.
The Forum 4 Service Delivery, launched in 2015, has over 42 000 members and has contested the last two local elections. The organisation has 38 municipal seats in five provinces, including a Mayor, 8 MMCs, and 8 Chairpersons of Municipal Public Accounts Committees.
ACTIONSA FORMS PACT WITH FORUM 4 SERVICE DELIVERY
Explaining the reason behind forming the pact, ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba said the time has come for opposition parties to come together and build a growing alternative that will be increasingly supported by South Africans who feel let down by a failed political establishment.
Mashaba said this follows within the political context of 70% of the seats in parliament now forming part of the Government of National Unity (GNU) and the formation of the self-titled ‘progressive caucus.’
“With the GNU faltering under policy paralysis and the progressive caucus proving ineffective, it is becoming increasingly evident that South Africa needs a growing rational centre.
“This need is heightened when one considers that we are approaching a local government election and, notwithstanding the focus on national politics, the reality is that South Africans’ greatest crises are of a local government nature. It is failures at this level that are seeing infrastructure collapse that is disrupting services, endangering the health of communities, and destroying local economies,” he said.
PARTY AMENDS CONSTITUTION TO INCLUDE DEPUTY PRESIDENT POSITION
Additionally, the Senate of ActionSA has amended the party’s interim constitution to establish the position of a Deputy President, which F4SD leader Mbahare Kekana will fill.
Mashaba said the Forum 4 Service Delivery brings with it an important capability that will greatly aid ActionSA’s efforts because it is an entity built on grass-roots engagement with communities. It has proven effective at this, including in rural communities, despite having very few resources.
“Beyond these important capabilities, ActionSA benefits from a leader of integrity. Dr Kekana holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Management from the University of the North-West, a Masters in Governance from the University of the Free State, and a Doctorate in Political Science from UKZN. Most recently, he has added an LLB to this impressive list of qualifications,” Mashaba said.
The former Johannesburg mayor said the upcoming local government elections will be pivotal in South Africa. In the 2021 elections, voter turnout fell below 45% because South Africans feel a massive disconnect between their lived realities and the parties that have mismanaged municipalities for too long.
“Added to this the reality is beginning to sink in that this GNU is nothing more than an implementing agent for failed ANC policies and will not reform our country in the ways voters expressed when they took away the ANC majority last year.
“The time has never been more important for organisations in the rational opposition centre to come together and build a growing alternative that is going to be increasingly supported by South Africans who feel let down by a failed political establishment,” he added.
DO YOU THINK ACTIONSA’S DECISION TO MERGE WITH FORUM 4 SERVICE DELIVERY WILL YIELD DESIRABLE RESULTS?
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