ActionSA and the Multi-Party Charter lead the way forward
The success of the past in Johannesburg can be repeated if all South Africans go out and vote
When I became the mayor of Johannesburg in August 2016, I managed one of the most stable coalition governments in South Africa at the time. Johannesburg’s multiparty minority government lasted longer than many other coalitions across the country and, I modestly submit, delivered better.
We passed development plans and budgets that helped save the city more than R500m by cutting down on consultancy fees, travel expenses and self-promoting advertising that previous administrations had carelessly spent. We drastically reduced unauthorised expenditure, identified more than R35bn in corruption — which led to 450 arrests through the city’s Group Forensic and Investigation Services — and doubled the city’s cash reserves within a year. Residents bore the fruit of this reinvigorated city governance, with the city’s Gauteng City-Region Observatory reporting increases in satisfaction levels among residents.
Now imagine if what we did in Johannesburg could be replicated countrywide. Consider what could be achieved if a group of political players who shared a commitment to remove the ANC and better South Africa came together and formed a partnership to steer this country in a more prosperous direction.
This is exactly what ActionSA sought to achieve when it signed the Multi-Party Charter (MPC) preelection agreement in July last year. It is becoming clear that no single political party will win a majority in this year’s elections, meaning parties will have to make agreements to co-govern both nationally and provincially. While its constituent parties have their differences, the MPC is the largest and most credible bloc outside the ANC with a clear and shared agenda for change in
South Africa. We believe the MPC presents a much better alternative to any ANC or EFF offer.
When I resigned from my previous political home and as Johannesburg mayor in October
2019, I said: “I cannot reconcile myself with people who believe that race is not important in their discussion of inequalities.” From that day, I set out to build a movement that would result in the reconciled and prosperous nation Archbishop Desmond Tutu dreamed of.
Starting with a “people’s dialogue” in which we engaged with more than 2-million South Africans, ActionSA has sought to create policies informed by the values of nonracialism, the rule of law and achieving true economic justice. I left my successful business career to bring dignity to black South Africans by creating a more equal South Africa after both the National Party and the ANC implemented laws that worsened inequality.
ActionSA’s policies, adopted at our inaugural policy conference in September by more than 600 delegates, are premised on the notion that the legacies of apartheid have to be directly addressed and that, unfortunately, race still determines opportunity in South Africa. Our policies seek to directly address the continuing hardships of black South Africans through quality education, entrepreneurial funding, labour reform and job creation.
While the ruling party celebrates the increase in social grant recipients to 26-million people, we believe it is a disaster when more and more people are dependent on the state. Only when black
South Africans have education and jobs — when they are able to make decisions about their own lives — will they have achieved economic freedom. No-one should be celebrating that so many of our people receive just R350 a month.
When we speak about economic justice, we are not talking about making the rich richer, which the ruling party’s BEE policies have achieved, but rather to bury BEE in an unmarked grave and replace it with inclusive economic empowerment (IEE). IEE, we believe, is the first real alternative to BEE that any political party has put forward. It would see the creation of an opportunity fund that South African businesses would be required to contribute to. It would be independently administered to fund infrastructure investment, tertiary education, entrepreneurial ventures and farming in marginalised communities across the country.
All previously disadvantaged South Africans would have a shareholding in the fund which, in return, could be used as collateral to buy homes, vehicles and other assets, or be sold after a certain number of years to create wealth. Instead of the ruling party’s BEE — which has created a few black billionaires, including the president himself — IEE would see ordinary communities such as the people of Orange Farm in Johannesburg establishing thousands of new black businesses and schools, leading to a better life for all.
When ActionSA speaks about the rule of law — unlike many of our MPC partners — we mean abolishing parole for serious crimes such as rape and murder, securing our borders and reforming our immigration system, and requiring convicts to contribute to society by producing food on farms and helping to build public infrastructure. Those who have harmed society will have to repay their debt to it. We will deal harshly with those found guilty of selling drugs in our communities, but for our children who suffer from drug addiction, we will support them by building rehabilitation centres and providing other support.
And we will bring religion back into schools by allowing school governing bodies to reintroduce a prayer or moment of quiet reflection at the start of the school day.
These policy solutions are distinctly different from those of many of our partners in the MPC. Voters need to know that ActionSA’s influence in a multiparty government will directly depend on the amount of electoral support it receives.
ActionSA remains one of the most diverse and fastest-growing partners in the MPC. We have proven time and again that we are able to wrest support from the ruling party. We enjoy as much support in suburban areas as we do in township ones. In by-elections across the country, from rural KwaNongoma in KwaZulu-Natal to KwaNobuhle in the Eastern Cape, we have shown that when people hear about ActionSA they stop putting their crosses next to the ANC and vote for us instead.
Today Action SA is working tirelessly to bring prosperity to all South Africans, regardless of their skin colour. Our party can get rid of wasteful expenditure, cut corruption, convict criminals, and bring service delivery to all South Africans — just as I did in Johannesburg from
2016 to 2019.
A better, more prosperous South Africa is possible. But for South Africa to achieve that future, all of us must encourage others to register for the elections and vote for the MPC this year. Change is in our hands.