Today is the first of many steps that ActionSA is going to take, hand in hand with other like-minded political parties and leaders, to build the space for the rational opposition alternative in South Africa.
This follows within the political context of 70% of the seats in parliament now forming part of the 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 obvious 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 the greatest crises facing South Africans 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.
It is in preparation for this vital election that ActionSA saw it fit to assess its approach at a time when so many South Africans are looking for an alternative but are confronted with too many organisations that appear to exist for reasons known more to themselves than to South Africans.
ActionSA has begun a programme of engagements with like-minded political parties with the explicit strategy of exploring opportunities to co-operate and unite the opposition space. While it is still early days, I am delighted to report that there is growing political will to engage in these discussions with the aim of prioritising the needs and best interests of South Africans.
I am particularly delighted to stand before you today to announce the first of what I believe will be many steps ActionSA is taking to unite the opposition.
Shortly after ActionSA’s refusal to join the so-called GNU and our exit from the Multi-Party Charter, Dr Kekana approached me to discuss the possibility of our parties coming together. I have been impressed by his vision and his selflessness in doing what he knows is correct for his party, its supporters and the people who look to the Forum 4 Service Delivery for leadership.
The Forum 4 Service Delivery was a natural first choice for ActionSA. While not represented in Parliament, its makeup is entirely oriented to local government, as its name suggests. Without any resources of any kind, it managed to be the 10th and 16th largest political party in South Africa in 2016 and 2021 respectively while only contesting a limited number of municipalities. In both elections the Forum 4 Service Delivery won over 80 000 votes.
As it stands right now, the Forum 4 Service Delivery has 38 municipal seats in five provinces, which includes a Mayor, 8 MMCs and 8 Chairpersons of Municipal Public Accounts Committees. The organisation has over 42 000 members and has enjoyed relatively stable leadership over the past 10 years.
From ActionSA’s perspective our efforts receive a significant bolstering today with this announcement. While many will seek news of engagements with parties in parliament, which are indeed underway, the reality is that this upcoming election is a local government election. Whether a party has MPs is totally surpassed by whether a party has councillors on the ground with a track record in driving service delivery issues.
The Forum 4 Service Delivery brings with them an important capability that will greatly aid ActionSA’s efforts because it is an entity that is built on grass root engagement with communities. It has proven effective at this, including in rural communities, despite having very little resources. One wonders where this party would have been if they had enjoyed financial support.
Beyond these important capabilities, ActionSA is benefitting from a leader of integrity. Dr Kekana holds a Post graduate 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.
Dr Kekana is a politician driven by his convictions and not his own self-interest. His move to engage ActionSA sees him relinquish a 10-year investment of blood, sweat and tears to do what is right for his party and for the communities who look to him for leadership.
It is for these reasons that the Senate of ActionSA have amended our interim constitution to establish the position of a Deputy President, and it is my pleasure today to announce that Dr Kekana will fill this role for ActionSA. My directives to him will be to work to build ActionSA structures and ensure that the greatest challenges facing these communities are being driven by ActionSA members.
The upcoming local government elections are going to 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.
Today Marks the First of Many Steps Towards Uniting the Opposition in South Africa
Today is the first of many steps that ActionSA is going to take, hand in hand with other like-minded political parties and leaders, to build the space for the rational opposition alternative in South Africa.
This follows within the political context of 70% of the seats in parliament now forming part of the 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 obvious 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 the greatest crises facing South Africans 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.
It is in preparation for this vital election that ActionSA saw it fit to assess its approach at a time when so many South Africans are looking for an alternative but are confronted with too many organisations that appear to exist for reasons known more to themselves than to South Africans.
ActionSA has begun a programme of engagements with like-minded political parties with the explicit strategy of exploring opportunities to co-operate and unite the opposition space. While it is still early days, I am delighted to report that there is growing political will to engage in these discussions with the aim of prioritising the needs and best interests of South Africans.
I am particularly delighted to stand before you today to announce the first of what I believe will be many steps ActionSA is taking to unite the opposition.
Shortly after ActionSA’s refusal to join the so-called GNU and our exit from the Multi-Party Charter, Dr Kekana approached me to discuss the possibility of our parties coming together. I have been impressed by his vision and his selflessness in doing what he knows is correct for his party, its supporters and the people who look to the Forum 4 Service Delivery for leadership.
The Forum 4 Service Delivery was a natural first choice for ActionSA. While not represented in Parliament, its makeup is entirely oriented to local government, as its name suggests. Without any resources of any kind, it managed to be the 10th and 16th largest political party in South Africa in 2016 and 2021 respectively while only contesting a limited number of municipalities. In both elections the Forum 4 Service Delivery won over 80 000 votes.
As it stands right now, the Forum 4 Service Delivery has 38 municipal seats in five provinces, which includes a Mayor, 8 MMCs and 8 Chairpersons of Municipal Public Accounts Committees. The organisation has over 42 000 members and has enjoyed relatively stable leadership over the past 10 years.
From ActionSA’s perspective our efforts receive a significant bolstering today with this announcement. While many will seek news of engagements with parties in parliament, which are indeed underway, the reality is that this upcoming election is a local government election. Whether a party has MPs is totally surpassed by whether a party has councillors on the ground with a track record in driving service delivery issues.
The Forum 4 Service Delivery brings with them an important capability that will greatly aid ActionSA’s efforts because it is an entity that is built on grass root engagement with communities. It has proven effective at this, including in rural communities, despite having very little resources. One wonders where this party would have been if they had enjoyed financial support.
Beyond these important capabilities, ActionSA is benefitting from a leader of integrity. Dr Kekana holds a Post graduate 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.
Dr Kekana is a politician driven by his convictions and not his own self-interest. His move to engage ActionSA sees him relinquish a 10-year investment of blood, sweat and tears to do what is right for his party and for the communities who look to him for leadership.
It is for these reasons that the Senate of ActionSA have amended our interim constitution to establish the position of a Deputy President, and it is my pleasure today to announce that Dr Kekana will fill this role for ActionSA. My directives to him will be to work to build ActionSA structures and ensure that the greatest challenges facing these communities are being driven by ActionSA members.
The upcoming local government elections are going to 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.