What ActionSA is doing differently than the Political Establishment

Dear fellow South Africans,

On Monday morning, ActionSA and the ruling party presented our top candidates to the South African people who we believe would best represent them in parliament. 

However, they were two very different approaches to selecting who would be best to serve the interests of South Africans. 

On the one side, the ruling party chose to select the same tired politicians who have been implicated in State Capture where billions were stolen from the South African people. 

No less than six of the candidates the ruling party presented were directly implicated in Justice Raymond Zondo’s State Capture report with no sign that the ruling party will take any action against them. 

Instead of being disciplined or investigated for alleged corruption, these candidates are being rewarded for the sake of political expediency. 

And the rest of the list presented was the same old names we’ve heard before: career politicians who don’t possess to skills to be hired by the private sector. 

In contrast, ActionSA chose to follow a completely different approach. 

We didn’t want to recycle career politicians but wanted to bring fresh faces who could invigorate our parliamentary caucus. 

When we spoke about policing, we wanted a police expert to lead our interventions. When we spoke about health, we wanted a doctor to lead. 

In education, we wanted an educational expert; in justice, we wanted a practising advocate; and in energy, we wanted an engineer who has energy experience. 

People like Dr Kgosi Letlape who will represent us in the health portfolio has been the former president of the Health Professionals Council of South Africa, while Thuli Khoza who will represent us in the Law & Order portfolio has over two decades in the South African Police Service where she served in various roles, from detective services to administration. 

We wanted to ensure that the candidates we present to South Africans have real-life experience of the portfolios they are supposed to lead. 

These 18 candidates form part of what we call our “Team Fix South Africa” which is intended to show South Africans the calibre of leadership we will have when we take government. 

We are not a one-man party but have a depth of leadership unlike any political party currently in South Africa. 

Unlike the political establishment, we never want to appoint people based on political patronage, instead, we appoint who’s best for the job. 

In every government we lead, including coalition government, we are committed to always appointing people based on merit.

We are unwavering in our commitment to ethical leadership and will never shy away from taking action against those who have been found wanting. 

This year, we can see an ethical government in charge of South Africa. But that will require that we try something new compared to what we have seen before. 

This year we have a choice, do we continue with the same ethically compromised leaders, or give a new crop of highly qualified leaders a chance to lead? 

Change is possible in South Africa, but only if we take action to achieve it.