- The DA claims a vote for ActionSA could be a vote for the EFF.
- This is because ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba lobbied for the EFF to be given positions in 2017 while he was DA mayor of Johannesburg.
- ActionSA says this is "laughable" and "hypocritical" – the DA's FedEx, not Mashaba, decided to work with the EFF in 2016.
ActionSA finds the DA's campaign to tie their party with the EFF "laughable" and hypocritical.
On Friday, DA Deputy Federal Council Chairperson Thomas Walters issued a statement, saying ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba, during his term as DA mayor of Johannesburg, lobbied for the EFF to be given the mayorship of Metsimaholo in 2017.
Walters released a redacted version of a letter Mashaba sent to the party's Federal Executive (FedEx), in which he wrote: "Whether we like it or not, the EFF is a strategic partner of the DA to save SA. We can't do it on our own. Clear FACT."
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Walters responded to this by saying: "Mr Mashaba clearly sees the EFF as a partner, not a danger to the future of South Africa. EFF policies would take SA down the road to ruin, but Mr Mashaba sees them as a partner."
Mashaba also wrote: "My personal view is that if we don't support them in this matter, I then don't see why they must support us somewhere else. We would have demonstrated to them and some people of this country that we are an arrogant party that does not respect other political parties. It would be about narrow DA principles."
Walters said Mashaba does not think that DA principles such as the rule of law or the protection of private property matters.
"Furthermore, it shows his willingness to do whatever it takes to be in the good books of the EFF."
Mashaba also wrote: "I would like to close by appealing to us to use this EFF arrangement in Metsimaholo, to strengthen our relationship with them and our other coalition partners. EFF is going to rely on us to assist them to succeed."
Walters responded: "Mr Mashaba clearly articulates his desire to see the EFF succeed, while the DA wants the EFF to fail so South Africa can succeed."
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Walters said it is clear that the ActionSA leadership believe that the EFF is a crucial partner in the future of South Africa.
"The DA believes that voters have the right to know if the party they are voting for will allow their vote to push the EFF into positions where they will govern," he said.
"Why does that matter? Because the EFF is a threat to the future of South Africa. The EFF would much rather see our country divided along racial prisms for their own narrow political outcomes. The EFF thrives on violence and chaos. It is a party that wants control and expropriate the property and possessions of South Africans. And they want to come for South Africans' pensions, medical aids, and investments.
"This is the type of party that ActionSA may be willing to get into bed with. A vote for ActionSA may well be a vote for the EFF."
News24 contacted ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont for comment.
"In all seriousness, I think this is all laughable," he said.
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Beaumont said after the 2016 municipal elections, the DA's FedEx decided to enter into a coalition with other parties and with the support of the EFF. Mashaba was not a member of the FedEx, but as mayor of Johannesburg, was tasked to make this arrangement work.
"He did it better than any other mayor, in our opinion," said Beaumont.
He said the DA couldn't pin collaborating with the EFF on Mashaba – it was their FedEx's decision.
He also said the DA's campaigning in Johannesburg is "completely hypocritical".
"You can't criticise Herman Mashaba's mayoralty, and campaign on its successes," he said.
In recent weeks, the DA has been having a go at smaller parties. Beaumont believes it is because its campaign is faltering.
Beaumont said:
He said while ActionSA will respond to some issues raised by other parties, their focus is on their own campaign and their election machinery is in full gear ahead of Monday's election.
