ActionSA’s Herman Mashaba flanked by Dereleen James (left) and Mary Phadi (right), who were unveiled as leaders of the party.
- ActionSA made a strategic electoral announcement on Saturday.
- It announced the appointments of two politicians to boost its campaigns in the Western Cape and Mpumalanga.
- Herman Mashaba said the party would “aggressively” fight against the failure to deliver basic services.
ActionSA announced that former MK Party head in Mpumalanga, Mary Phadi, had joined the party as its provincial campaign manager.
ActionSA’s president, Herman Mashaba, also unveiled MP Dereleen James as the party’s Western Cape chairperson.
Mashaba said James would use her background as a community activist to spearhead the party’s growth and campaign in the province.
ActionSA announced the new leadership on Saturday as part of its broader plans for the upcoming local government elections.
Mashaba said there was an urgent question central to their discussions: how to take a campaign directly to South Africans who have been failed by municipalities, infrastructure, corruption, the rising cost of living and lawlessness.
Mashaba said: “This is just the beginning. ActionSA’s contestation of the upcoming municipal elections will be accompanied by further announcements in the coming weeks on the shift we are undertaking to mount an aggressive campaign in a targeted number of municipalities across all nine provinces.”
READ | ‘We declare war’: Herman Mashaba gives Johannesburg mayoral position another go
Just a few months before the 2026 local government elections, the party announced that it plans to lead coalitions in Gauteng’s metros and North West municipalities, and possibly beyond.
The blueprint will be used beyond Gauteng, if it works, according to its leaders.
Party chairperson Michael Beaumont said the blueprint was the outcome of a four-day debate among senate leaders.
The senate looked at “strategy horizons”, during which they look at upcoming election cycles.
Today, ActionSA made announcements of national importance.
1️⃣ Dereleen James is ActionSA’s Western Cape Provincial Chairperson
2️⃣ Mary Phadi joins ActionSA as Senator and Mpumalanga Provincial Campaigns Manager
3️⃣ ActionSA is contesting in 9 provinces
We are cruising nicely. pic.twitter.com/axFFmT8FjD
— Michael Beaumont (@ME_Beaumont) March 28, 2026
Beaumont said: “In 2026, it is our plan to lead coalition governments in Gauteng and the North West, and to ensure that we can back that up by developing a footprint in all nine provinces [by the 2029 national elections]. Importantly, we want to be the biggest party in Gauteng in 2029.”
Without going into the specifics, Beaumont said the party had identified 60 municipalities in all nine provinces which the party believed were there for the taking.
READ | Mary Phadi holds on to MKP funds after her expulsion
Mashaba said: “The senate reaffirmed that our campaign will continue to represent a clean break from the politics of self-interest and will instead reinforce our commitment to putting the people of South Africa first, with ActionSA and its leaders, who have a proven track record, ready to fix what other parties have broken.”
He added:
ActionSA intends to run a campaign built from the ground up that places the issues of communities at the centre of our work, while recognising that fundamental to this approach is a bold and assertive campaign that aggressively advances our fight against the collapse of basic services, crime and drugs, unemployment and the many challenges destroying our communities.
Citing Mashaba and Athol Trollip’s stints as mayors of Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay, respectively, Beaumont said the party had a pedigree of leaders who “fix what other parties have broken”.
Beaumont said: “South African people are depressed by the state of local government. They don’t want gimmicks anymore; they want change.”
Meanwhile, the party also discussed the termination of Tshwane Corporate and Shared Services MMC Kholofelo Morodi, who is mired in allegations of fraud.
Morodi was suspended last week.
In a statement, the party said: “This decision was taken after a thorough and procedurally fair process. Morodi was formally notified of the allegations, afforded an opportunity to respond, granted an extension, and ultimately provided with a 72-hour period to make representations.
“The provincial executive committee considered all submissions received before arriving at its decision.”
Beaumont said other parties would’ve likely given her a diplomatic posting, but the axing is an indication the party was serious about clean governance.
