- ActionSA has appointed retired brigadier-general Kwena Mangope as its North West provincial leader.
- He is the son of former leader of Bophuthatswana, Lucas Mangope and a traditional leader in Lehurutshe.
- Mashaba said he was glad that his party managed to recruit someone of Mangope's "calibre" to lead the party in the province.
Kwena Mangope, the son of former Bophuthatswana leader Lucas Mangope, has been appointed ActionSA's North West chairperson.
A retired army brigadier-general, Mangope is also a traditional leader of Bahurutshe boo-Manyane in Lehurutshe.
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba said Mangope's appointment came as the party was finalising appointments across other provinces.
"I and the rest of my colleagues in the leadership of ActionSA are convinced that Kgosi Mangope is the right man to lead our project in the North West and ensure that the ANC is removed from power there, too. The people in the municipalities we contested agreed with our message for 2021 and they applied the first jab to the coronavirus that is the ANC. The second jab is coming in 2024 when we will remove them in all the provinces, as well as national government level," he said in a statement.
Mashaba added that Mangope's military career spanned 40 years, after he was first enlisted in the Bophuthatswana defence force in 1981.
"He worked his way up until achieving the rank of colonel by 1994. After 1994, he joined the newly-established SANDF and worked his way up until he was appointed director of corporate communications, a role he kept until retirement."
The appointment of Kgosi Mangope could not have come at a more opportune time, following ActionSA’s groundbreaking contribution in the removal from power of the ANC in the 6 municipalities we contested in these last elections.https://t.co/NPeycYOk3L
— ActionSA (@Action4SA) December 18, 2021
Mangope told the SABC that he believed the provincial capital Mahikeng and the entire North West province could return to "its former glory" through ActionSA.
"I have done a lot of soul searching and I've done a lot of reading. Particularly after ActionSA was founded, I went through their manifesto, and I think ActionSA's manifesto is the manifesto that I think can bring service delivery to our people," he told the public broadcaster.
Mashaba formed ActionSA after leaving the DA in 2019.
The party contested the local government elections in the Gauteng metros and at three councils in KwaZulu-Natal.
More provincial leaders would be announced soon, he said.
"More and more exceptional leaders in South Africa are joining our ranks and, over the coming months, I will be announcing each of the provincial chairpersons that will be appointed to lead our campaigns in the remaining provinces. This is the time for action," Mashaba said.
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