In a show of force and to announce its presence in the Zulu Kingdom, ActionSA began their road to the 2024 general elections by visiting AmaZulu King MisuZulu kaZwelithini at the royal palace of KwaKhangelamankengane in Nongoma.
Somehow, the visit was symbolic because it was what new KwaZulu-Natal party leader Zwakele Mncwango put on the table as among his non-negotiable commitments, in respect to protecting, respecting and preserving the institution of traditional leadership.
Mncwango takes over the reins from Musa Kubheka,who unceremoniously vacated the office in July, after only six months at the helm.
Now Mncwango, a former DA provincial leader, has made his intentions clear that ActionSA is paving its way to become one of the kingmakers in 2024.
“It’s almost certain that in 2024, the province will be governed by a coalition. ActionSA is here to cause a lot of disruption in the politics of KZN. We are not going to be a small party and we are holding public dialogues, engaging disgruntled and disillusioned voters,” he told Sunday World.
He said data collected showed the organisation, formed in August 2020 by former city of Johannesburg DA mayor Herman Mashaba, was a party of choice among voters. “In the 2021 elections, we only contested six municipalities. Three of them were in Gauteng and another three in KZN, and in all the councils we contested we were able to get a seat or more.
“We had limited resources but managed to be the sixth-biggest party in the country. We are also getting support across all communities, rural and urban. We are also voted in by all racial demographics.”
Mncwango also took the opportunity to throw shade at the IFP, a party on a comeback trail in KZN, “In KZN people chose the IFP because they had no alternative after the collapse of NFP. ActionSA is the game changer,” he said.
On the coalition preferences, Mncwango said under his tutelage, the party will strike agreements with like-minded organisations. Key to their non-negotiables is the matter of how to deal with undocumented foreigners, prioritising South
Africans for job opportunities and improving healthcare, especially in rural areas.
“We will negotiate before contesting elections. Our main focus is the principle of service delivery and not so much positions.”
Mncwango said he was mobilising funds with several businesses people and those who previously funded the DA, as they promised to buy into his vision.
Sunday World also understands that former DA MPL Mbali Ntuli is expected to join ActionSA. In its maiden elections in 2021, the party recorded 1.9% of the voter share.
Mncwango inherits a party ravaged by internal divisions, culminating in the sacking of Makhosi Khoza, who had a fallout with party leader Mashaba.
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