POLITRICKING | ‘We had to re-evaluate our position’: ActionSA’s Michael Beaumont talks Moonshot Pact ingenuity, ‘toxic’ DA and Tshwane
ActionSA's national chairperson is this week's guest on 'Politricking with Tshidi Madia', where he discusses ActionSA's work with political parties, accountability, and cutting ties with the DA.
National chairperson of ActionSA, Michael Beaumont. Picture: Eyewitness News
JOHANNESBURG - ActionSA says the potential marriage of convenience between the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Tshwane will likely not impact the already sealed relationship in Joburg.
Both ActionSA and the DA are wooing the ANC in the capital city, with the latter hoping a partnership with the former liberation movement will retain Cilliers Brink’s position as mayor, while the former has cast its eyes on securing a repeat of the deal struck in Johannesburg, which saw the resignation of Kabelo Gwamanda as mayor in August.
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“It’s something we are going to have to consider, but I would suggest that the guiding principle for that would ultimately be what’s right for the residents of Joburg… We are in a position there to deliver value, to provide accountability, and to offer a pool of votes whenever other political parties are being silly with theirs,” says ActionSA national chairperson Micheal Beaumont.
Beaumont features on EWN’s Politricking with Tshidi Madia this week, where the politician discusses the pending motion of no confidence in the Tshwane mayor, and shattered relations between his party and the DA.
He also reflects on ActionSA post-2024 general elections, along with decisions that saw his organisation joining hands with the same ANC it’s been vowing to push out of power since the inception of the green party four years ago.
“We also had to re-evaluate our position - as a party we have been very strong to say we won’t work with the ANC, won’t do this, won’t do that, setting really strong red lines in what we will and won’t do… Our review process has showed us that painted us into a bit of a corner,” admits Beaumont.
He says in aiming to do some things better going forward, his party has realised it must make decisions on the merits of the issue at hand.
Seemingly part of those reflections have focused on the historic move ActionSA and other smaller parties have made, creating a coalition pact with the DA in the lead-up to the May general elections in the Multi-Party Charter (MPC), which was meant to explore paths towards power if the ANC failed to secure a clear majority at the polls.
This agreement fell apart even before the final tally of the votes cast was concluded, with the DA, IFP and FF-Plus all now part of an ANC-led national government.
Beaumont says while his party remains steadfast in its decision not to join the ANC’s Government of National Unity, it paid a hefty price by getting into power-sharing deals with the DA early, accusing the blue party of often de-campaigning its MPC partners during campaigns.
“Our association with a party like the DA was toxic, in black communities, across South Africa as well. So, that kind of double whammy really was a negative impact to us,” he remarked.
And while there’s clear regret over working with the DA in the lead-up to the elections, Beaumont says his party was correct in its attempts to establish an alternative to offer to South African voters.
“Was there ever a genuine attempt to make the Multi-Party Charter succeed? I don’t think so”
'DA SUPPORTERS MUST OPEN THEIR EYES'
His dim view of the DA’s leadership continues as he turns his attention to the City of Tshwane.
Beaumont has been comparing Brink to former eThekwini Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda on public platforms arguing that when it comes to audit outcomes and levels of satisfaction with service delivery, Brink has done considerably worse, even stating that a study by his party shows residents believe services provided in suburbs are of a superior quality to those in townships in the country’s capital.
“There’s a lot of listeners in this kind of environment who I think got their blinkers on, and a blind spot when it comes to the DA… ActionSA can’t work with them anymore, FF-Plus [Freedom Front Plus] increasingly can’t work with them anymore, PA [Patriotic Alliance] can’t work with them anymore. We are getting phone calls from national leaders in the ANC saying how on earth do you do this, cause we can’t do it anymore,” he says.
“At some point, DA supporters might have to open their eyes to the possibility that it’s not everybody else - it might be them,” he adds.
Beaumont insists though that the issues he raised of the capital city’s finances and track record of service delivery doesn’t mean he’s absolving his party from any responsibility, ActionSA is part of the coalition government, with its councillors, including the deputy mayor Nasiphi Moya, remaining in their positions despite the decision to cut ties with the DA.
He claims his party has used every alternative to oppose some of the decisions, but is treated with disdain.
“He [Brink], has proven time and time again that actually, the DA’s idea of a coalition is that they govern, and we just give them a majority,” he says.