ActionSA says it is reconsidering its participation in the DA’s moonshot pact because of the blue party’s attitude during the election of a new mayor for Johannesburg on Friday.
The two parties were at loggerheads over a mayoral candidate, with ActionSA fielding its Gauteng chair and caucus leader Funzi Ngobeni against the DA’s Mpho Phalatse.
ActionSA said its former coalition partners — the IFP, FF+, ACDP and UIM — had agreed to back Ngobeni but were defeated by the ANC/EFF-led coalition after the DA refused to support him.
ActionSA national chair Michael Beaumont said the move would have serious implications for the DA’s proposed moonshot pact that seeks to prevent an ANC/EFF coalition taking power after the 2024 national elections.
“The intention is for an alternative to be provided that can keep the ANC out of government in 2024. In Joburg, we did not have a theoretical ANC and EFF government, we have a literal representation.
“When presented with an opportunity to remove that government and replace it with a coalition partner who has been invited to that moonshot pact, they opted rather for the ANC and EFF to return.
“We are going to be asking very serious questions about our involvement in this moonshot pact,” said Beaumont.
He said his party would reflect on their stance on the pact but their relationship with the DA’s moonshot pact was now in the intensive care unit.
“They detonated a bomb in Joburg. The DA’s attitude is that it's their way or the highway. They don't only destroy coalitions, but they actively campaign that coalitions don’t work. Their behaviour is appalling,” he said.
DA Gauteng chair Solly Msimanga dismissed the threats, saying Action SA was simply “desperate for some kind of hold”.
“We cannot be concentrating on ActionSA and their tactics to dislodge and discredit the DA. When an opportunity presented itself to remove former mayor Thapelo Amad through a no-confidence motion, they approached the smaller parties without talking to the DA.
“They wanted to create a base of their own, a platform where they could establish their relevance. When they realised they did not have the numbers by ganging up with the smaller parties, they came to the DA at the last minute,” said Msimanga.
He said that when approached by ActionSA, the DA wanted to be certain that the coalition would be solid and last until 2026.
“We are tired of always defending unstable coalitions that fall apart, but nobody could give us an answer. Without a guarantee, we were uncomfortable with the arrangement.”
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