ActionSA unveils plan to replace Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment

ActionSA is trying to stamp its authority ahead of the 2026 local government elections. With just six seats in the National Assembly, it played an important role in halting the 2025 Budget that included a 0.5 percentage point VAT increase.

Riding the wave of that momentum, the party has now initiated a soft launch of its 2026 local government election campaign, unveiling ambitious plans to replace the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) policy.

The party will do this by tabling a draft resolution in the National Assembly in terms of Rule 119, to initiate the establishment of an ad hoc committee which would investigate, deliberate and shape urgent reforms aimed at achieving transformative economic justice.

It will be months before the matter reaches Parliament for formal debate, but the party believes now is the right time to begin a national conversation about it. This is according to the party’s parliamentary caucus chairperson, Dr Kgosi Letlape. The party will apply to the programming committee and the Speaker to have the issue officially tabled.

Party leader Herman Mashaba confirmed that talks with “like-minded” political parties to support the motion when it is officially tabled had commenced.

The party launched its economic transformation policy at the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg on Wednesday, 7 May and bussed in supporters, mostly from disadvantaged communities, including Eldorado Park, Soweto and Mamelodi. Young people took to the podium to share their plight, mostly around joblessness, pleading with the party to implement reforms.

“We embark on this effort to bridge partisan divides and build genuine consensus, establishing a dedicated and constitutionally empowered platform that will not merely culminate in rhetoric, but in real legislative reforms that advance economic justice in South Africa,” Mashaba told the crowd.

He told Daily Maverick that the party was using the VAT momentum to its advantage.

“It’s part of our strategy to demonstrate that we are not here to play,” he said.

New relevance

ActionSA came on the political scene in 2020. In November 2021, it contested six municipalities across two provinces in the local government elections: Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, eThekwini, KwaDukuza and Newcastle.

It made significant strides, receiving 547,862 votes, making it the sixth-largest party nationally. It won 16.05% of the vote in Johannesburg, where Mashaba was a former mayor with the DA, and looked set to be a significant player.

But in 2024, the party did not fare as well, garnering only 330,425 votes. However, it did succeed in getting representation in the National Assembly, securing four seats, which was key to getting a national footprint.

In its months in Parliament, the party has sought to make its presence felt as a “constructive opposition”, challenging crucial pieces of legislation and posing key questions to hold the executive accountable. But compared to its rivals in the 10-party Government of National Unity (GNU), such as the DA and, to a lesser extent, Rise Mzansi and Build One South Africa, it seemed to struggle to find its voice on the national stage.

Then it changed tack.

Mashaba had said he would never work with the ANC, but the party changed its approach after the 2024 elections.

ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont told Daily Maverick in April, “In the wake of the May 2024 elections, ActionSA has publicly communicated a change in its coalition outlook to be more pragmatic and to be willing to work with parties in the best interests of South Africans. As a practical demonstration of this, we have applied this principle in Tshwane, where ActionSA replaced a failed coalition with one that is now delivering to the benefit of all residents in Tshwane.”

Read more: ‘ActionSA won’t entertain coalition discussions until tax increases scrapped’ — party chair Michael Beaumont

Then came the party’s decision to work with the ANC to pass the Budget, which drew criticism from opponents, who claimed it was naive or selling out, but the party undoubtedly played a role in scrapping the VAT hike, along with the court action launched by the DA and EFF.

Suddenly, ActionSA appeared to be a key political player again.

Local government elections

While the party has been able to build its footprint, it still won’t contest all the metros in the 2026 local government elections. Mashaba said it would contest strategic metros and would focus on attracting young, black voters.

“We are targeting all South Africans, but I think we see a big opportunity among the black youth who are the biggest casualties of ANC failures.”

To showcase its potential in government, the party frequently highlights the work done by its first mayor, Dr Nasiphi Moya, who has made strides in stabilising Tshwane. On Thursday, the party welcomed the South African Cities Network’s 2024 report, which recognised Tshwane as the safest metro in the country.

Tshwane Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya. (Photo: Luba Lesolle / Gallo Images)

ActionSA’s fortunes could be determined by the discussions under way on what the ANC has termed a “reset” of the GNU.

Mashaba is not against the idea of ActionSA being part of the government, but the party does not support the current GNU model. It has concerns about how the GNU is structured and managed, and believes it does not allow for proper accountability or clear agreements between parties. The party would prefer to be part of a coalition.

“We told them that if we were to work together, there would be no statement of intent as a document to regulate our relationship. Our relationship would have to be governed by a legally binding coalition agreement, and we made it clear that we would want to be a part of a  reduced Cabinet.”

‘Opportunity fund’

The party’s election campaign launch comes against the backdrop of the DA’s legal challenge to the Employment Equity Amendment Act, which it argues veers toward authoritarianism.

DA Federal Council Chairperson Helen Zille claims the amendment enforces race quotas rather than equitable targets, undermining the fairness principles of redress legislation and the Constitution.

ActionSA, however, views the case as a hindrance to transformation, with Beaumont saying: “ActionSA has taken note of the two largest parties in the GNU being at odds with one another on the subject of transformation. It was vital to come forward with a clear legislative mechanism to ensure we review the efficacy of transformation laws in our country, which have clearly failed, but while exploring alternative policy options.”

Read more: Quotas vs transformation — DA’s legal attack on employment equity law splits the GNU

According to the party’s alternative B-BBEE proposal, a parliamentary ad hoc committee would review transformation laws and propose urgent reforms.

A key proposal includes the establishment of an “opportunity fund”, which the party said could be financed by a 5% levy of company profits. The fund would essentially replace the B-BBEE framework and focus on investments on education, entrepreneurship and infrastructure in disadvantaged communities.

“As ActionSA, we will put forward a basket of essential policy levers into this new national dialogue on transformation, designed to produce real, measurable change.

“If implemented as we intend them to be, they will respond directly and effectively to the constitutional call for redress that has long been ignored.” DM