- ActionSA leader, Herman Mashaba says he'll run for the mayoral throne in the City of Joburg in the upcoming local elections.
- Mashaba says if his party fails to obtain an outright majority win, they'll open their options for coalition talks.
- The new party on the political block said not working with the ANC was "non-negotiable".
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has ruled out working with the ANC in a possible coalition after the upcoming elections in October.
On Thursday, while briefing the media, Mashaba further revealed that he would contest for the mayoral position in the City of Johannesburg in the upcoming local elections.
He said it was their wish for an outright majority win.
However, if it failed to do so, the party said it would be willing to get into any coalition agreement with any political party, besides the ANC.
ActionSA was gunning for the big metros - it said their next step would be to announce the names of candidates to contest in Ekhuruleni and the City of Tshwane for mayoral positions.
Mashaba said:
Mashaba, who's aggressively used the recent by-elections in Gauteng to campaign and rally supporters behind him, said his organisation was on a mission to increase their support base in the City of Johannesburg to allow voters to recognise them as a suitable party to run the administration.
The former Joburg mayor who's campaigned in his hometown, Tshwane, said he would first gun for the City of Johannesburg which he felt would be a bigger win for his party.
"I believe ActionSA can force for that change. Now more than ever, I believe that change starts by rebuilding our country from the ground up, community by community, ward by ward, municipality by municipality; right up to the very top," he said.
Mashaba, who represented the DA as the Joburg mayor from 2014 to 2019, had a bumpy ride as he was implicated in the Public Protector's report in 2020 over certain appointments in his office.
In her report, Busisiwe Mkhwebane found that the former Johannesburg metro police department head, David Tembe, executive director of housing, Moses Mtileni, and the appointment of KPMG to conduct certain investigations in various departments, were improperly or irregularly appointed without following due process.
Mashaba said he was taking the report on review and wasn't shaken by its findings. He was adamant he did nothing wrong.
"I'm in the process of taking the Public Protector's report on review and I'm a hundred percent confident that I will win that case. Because those appointments were carried out lawfully and approved by the council of the City of Johannesburg," he said.
Did you know you can comment on this article? Subscribe to News24 and add your voice to the conversation.