ActionSA used us for votes, say disgruntled members

ActionSA has been accused by some of its Soweto members – who claim they brought in the greatest number of votes in the Joburg local government polls – of playing favourites in the selection of proportional representation candidates.

The Citizen has seen a letter addressed to party leader Herman Mashaba wherein disgruntled members outline their grievances.

The correspondence is accompanied by a signed petition and collaboratively authored by “Action- SA Disgruntled members and Constituencies”. It demands a response within 24 hours of the letter, which would be Thursday.

The Soweto chapter of ActionSA said that it has delivered 16.5% of the party’s total votes gained in Johannesburg but feels that the proportional representation list of candidates submitted prior to the election, is unfair. In its letter, the group inferred that only an inner circle has made it to council.

“The party’s proportional representative list is really unfair as the top 44 of the seats we have won in the November 2021 local government elections of South Africa, are only for those who have a close link to the President [Herman Mashaba],” the letter says.

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ActionSA’s Michael Beaumont said that the party doesn’t negotiate on a bad faith basis and feels that the disgruntled members may not have South Africa’s best interests at heart or that of ActionSA.

The deadline set came with a threat of media exposure should there be no response from leadership.

“We don’t mind media coverage on the issue, it’s a free country. But despite the 24-hour deadline and threats, we went ahead and communicated with them,” Beaumont said.