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Five years ago today, ActionSA was launched under a Covid-19 hard lockdown from a live studio broadcast in Auckland Park

We celebrate this milestone for a young political party not with elaborate parties or celebrations, but with reflection on the growing and respectable record of the positive impact ActionSA has made in South Africa in just five years, with much more still to come as we continue to deliver on our promise of action.

Born out of The People’s Dialogue, an online engagement with South Africans that has since been mimicked by many other parties, we were established in response to a public call for a new party grounded in principle and shared values.

Even in our early days, we were an activist organisation, holding our own independent Commission of Enquiry into the failures of the Tshwane Municipality under previous administrations to resolve the Hammanskraal Water Crisis.

The successful 2021 local government election saw us emerge as the largest new party in the country, despite contesting only 6 out of 278 municipalities.

We litigated during the worst stages of load-shedding and secured a major victory against Eskom, with a ruling that schools, hospitals and police stations may not be subjected to load-shedding.

From the beginning, we took up the fight for forgotten communities, such as the Lily Mine families who were abandoned by an uncaring government. This fight continues in earnest today and will not cease until justice is delivered.

With the launch of The South African Dream, we presented the first hopeful and positive vision for South Africans to aspire to.

Our 2023 policy conference established clear water between us and other political parties by producing policies that were rational, evidence-based and that spoke to the realities of every South African family.

Our 2024 campaign did not produce the election outcome we sought, notwithstanding a campaign that resonated deeply with South Africans and was carried across the country by our hardworking volunteers and activists, to whom we extend our sincerest gratitude. We are proud to have finished as the seventh-largest party, securing six seats in the National Assembly — the strongest performance of any new party outside of MK.

ActionSA regrouped after the 2024 election and have become the hardest working political party in South Africa, consistently championing important issues on behalf of the people.

We declined an invitation to take up a ministerial post in the GNU, on the principled position that the arrangement was not underpinned by a coherent agreement on reforms and limitations of executive authority. This stance has since been vindicated.

As a constructive opposition in Parliament, we have held the GNU accountable for its failure to alter the direction and behaviour of government. This has included the introduction of our innovative GNU Tracker, which measures performance across critical national indicators.

Our parliamentary team has already introduced bold legislation, with further proposals in the pipeline. These include constitutional amendments to abolish deputy ministers and strengthen accountability, entrench the prioritisation of South Africans in the Bill of Rights, review transformation laws to deliver genuine reforms to widespread inequality, and cut the rampant waste of ministerial expenditure. 

The election of Dr Nasiphi Moya as our Mayor of Tshwane has provided an opportunity to demonstrate our own brand of service delivery excellence, alongside my own record as Mayor of Johannesburg, Athol Trollip’s leadership as Mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay, and the contributions of other leaders across our organisation. In a short period, Tshwane’s finances have stabilised, budgets are fully funded, service delivery is accelerating across all communities, and the city is visibly being led after many years of misgovernance.

Through Operation Big Green Umbrella, we have expanded our footprint, with our councillors growing from 91 to more than 140 through the assimilation of community-rooted parties under the ActionSA banner across provinces.

It is undeniable that ActionSA has already made a considerable impact on the lives of South Africans. We take this opportunity to thank the people of our country for their trust and support, and we rededicate ourselves to earning their confidence through another 5 years of ACTION that truly puts South Africa first.

Issued by ActionSA President Herman Mashaba