ActionSA about-turn on governance with Tshwane mayoralty at stake

ActionSA’s Dr Nasiphi Moya . (Photo: Luba Lesolle / Gallo Images)

10 Sep 2024

The DA has shown no electoral interest in Pretoria’s township communities. Instead, it has implemented a command-and-control model, leading ActionSA to reassess its involvement in the DA-led multi-party coalition it has been part of since 2021, says ActionSA’s national chairperson, Michael Beaumont.

Two months ago, when ActionSA entered into a “conditional” partnership with the ANC, it firmly rejected the notion of co-governing and insisted on having only oversight positions to ensure it could address issues effectively, rather than making a noise in the opposition benches.

It now seems that ActionSA may have shifted its position, with the potential to secure its first executive mayor in the City of Tshwane.

In an interview with Daily Maverick, national chairperson Micheal Beaumont said the idea of an ActionSA mayoralty was floated quite some time ago, but had not been discussed in recent weeks.

On what may have led to the change of heart, Beaumont said: “I think to be clear, what we communicated regarding Johannesburg was that the era of saying at a national level, the position of ActionSA vis-à-vis coalitions is this, has come to an end, we need to ensure that we look at every municipality on the merits of that particular consideration…”

“As it relates to the City of Tshwane, to give consideration around the possible ActionSA mayor, that’s something we will have to investigate on its merits.”

Should ActionSA ultimately get the mayorship, Beaumont said it would consider the question of what kind of governance arrangements would be constituted, be it a government of local unity or otherwise.

Unanswered questions

“But all of these things remain questions which we share the view on how important they are. They just remain questions that are unanswered at this time,” he said.

Beaumont’s assertion that no discussion around an ActionSA mayoralty had taken place is in contradiction to what ANC regional secretary George Matjila said, as he confirmed that discussions in this regard had in fact taken place, but a final decision would be taken by the ANC’s national leadership.

At the weekend when ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile was asked if the ANC was looking at taking the mayorship position, he told journalists that “the issue of Tshwane has not been discussed by the national leadership, it is something that the province is still handling, they will brief us”.

Tshwane Mayor Cilliers Brink. (Photo: Gallo Images / Rapport / Deon Raath)

The incumbent executive mayor, Cilliers Brink, is expected to be ousted through a motion of no-confidence that will be supported by political parties including the ANC, ActionSA, EFF and ACDP, which account for the majority of the seats in council.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Tshwane Mayor soon to be ousted as political spats continue

The motion was initially expected to be voted on during Friday, 30 August, but had since been temporarily withdrawn. Brink had approached the North Gauteng Division of the High Court to challenge the legality of the motion, citing procedural irregularities.

Although ActionSA previously indicated that it would support a motion to oust Brink, it remains in coalition with the DA and holds the position of the executive mayor in the multiparty coalition arrangement.

Beaumont did not dispute this had been the case. In August, the party announced that it was undergoing an internal review of its relationship with the DA in the metro. The review is still under way.

Among other aspects, the review will examine the current coalition, assess the government’s trends and performance, and evaluate whether conditions are improving or deteriorating. Beaumont said this was because “the experience of our structures is that it’s townships in particular that are regressing”.

‘Smokescreen’

The DA’s Tshwane caucus spokesperson, Kwena Moloto, dubbed ActionSA’s internal review as a “smokescreen” to buy time while they finalised a deal to bring the EFF into government in the capital city.

“This campaign, which highlights service delivery issues in Tshwane and attempts to place the blame solely on the DA, is deeply hypocritical. ActionSA likes to brand itself as the party of action, yet despite being in government, it resorts to posting videos about how helpless they are instead of using their elected leadership to take action,” said Moloto.

Asked about the possible outcomes of the review, Beaumont would not be drawn into speculation.

“It is not a premeditated type of process. It’s not one with an intended answer in mind, and therefore it is not the case that we can speak about which way the party will go in terms of its decision making on the back of that review…

“Part of the review will see ActionSA embark on several oversight missions in the capital city and consult its constituency regarding its next move. The oversights are an exercise for us to go on the ground and engage communities and assess service delivery realities, particularly in townships,” Beaumont said.

While ActionSA has taken the decision to embark on the oversight missions the timing is interesting, as it has been part of the DA-led multiparty coalition since 2021 — and Beaumont is not oblivious to this.

“We’re not under any illusions in that regard. We know we’re part of this government that has caused us to initiate this review, because we find ourselves as the party with the greatest representation in the townships of Tshwane, and yet we are governing with parties that had absolutely no electoral interests in those communities. So when service delivery regresses in those places, it’s ActionSA that needs to account to our constituency.”

Underserviced black communities

The ANC has long cried foul about the plight of black communities that are underserviced. Beaumont said this had been a DA-induced problem as the issues that were experienced in these townships happened in two particular departments that fell within the DA’s portfolios, something to which Beaumont said the party could not turn a blind eye.

“There’s utility services, which deals with electricity, water, sewer, etc, and accounts for 60, 70% of the City’s budgets… The other is waste and refuse removal. Both of those portfolios are governed by the DA.”

Moloto questioned the intentions behind ActionSA’s decision to stay in government in Tshwane if indeed things had regressed under the DA-led coalition.

“If ActionSA truly believes that the government they have co-governed since 2021 is failing, why hasn’t their deputy mayor or member of the Mayoral Committee resigned? It is unethical to remain in the Mayoral Committee for a salary while publicly denouncing the very government they are part of.”

For the greater part of 2023, the City was candid about its severe financial constraints, part of which it attributed to the previous ANC-led administration that had been at the helm for nearly two decades before being replaced by a DA-led coalition in 2016.

Read more: Tshwane municipality wilting under bad finances and scandal

The City could barely pay its debt, including to Eskom and Rand Water, and its finances were further crippled by a protracted municipal strike by workers who demanded a 5.4% salary increase.

Last week, Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke said Tshwane had improved its outcome from an adverse audit opinion to a qualified opinion by taking steps to implement prior-year audit recommendations.

Moloto said the party was well aware of the challenge the metro had been grappling with.

“Tshwane is not without its challenges, but we are making progress. ActionSA’s attempts to destabilise a stable coalition in pursuit of power by aligning with the EFF threatens to undo this progress,” Moloto said.

Beaumont added: “We want to be clear in terms of what we’re dealing with here, that the DA has set up governments where they have sort of the command and control model…”

Tshwane ActionSA’s Dr Nasiphi Moya. (Photo: Gallo Images / Luba Lesolle)

On who would be the party’s mayoral candidate should the ANC and ActionSA reach an agreement in this regard, Beaumont said: “The party hasn’t deliberated on that question, but you know, certainly Dr (Nasiphi) Moya has demonstrated to be an excellent deputy mayor, and in many ways has led the charge in our service delivery concerns in the city.” DM

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South Africa

Unanswered questions

‘Smokescreen’

Underserviced black communities