On Sunday, the leader of ActionSA, Herman Mashaba, delivered his last speech in Midrand with the May 29 polls nearing in two days.
Mashaba’s speech emphasised an unstable and staggering state of the country after 30 years of democracy, yet the current government claims citizens are shackled from the hands of apartheid.
Mashaba said the top opposition parties are self-serving, and instead of coming up with long-term solutions, they actively talk against the governing party.
“South Africans are good, hard-working people who have been let down by unethical, uncaring and unpatriotic leaders. Leaders who are more obsessed with the success of their own parties and their own pockets than with the interest of the South African people.
“Against this backdrop, many new parties have come along, but have failed because they are focused too much on academic policies, newspaper headlines and empty slogans instead of building structures and providing real solutions. These parties with unknown and discredited leaders with empty slogans will get us nowhere,” said Mashaba.
All is not gloomy, as Mashaba pledged the ultimate “South African Dream” for South Africans if they vote for ActionSA. The former City of Johannesburg mayor explained that he left his thriving business career to serve the public, hence he branched out into politics and actively led a successful metro during his office.
“I left a successful career in business to become the executive mayor of the City of Johannesburg in August 2016 because I wanted to play an active role in righting the wrongs of the past. Being mayor was one of the most challenging jobs I ever had. But equally, it was the most rewarding of my entire career.
“Nothing can compare to seeing the response of a grandmother who was able to boil a kettle for the first time after we provided electricity to Kliptown 23 years after 1994.
“While it was heartbreaking to see the conditions many South Africans still live in, my experience as the City of Johannesburg mayor taught me what is possible when the government works for the people.
“This experience led to the launch of ActionSA, to provide a fresh, solutions-based and non-racial alternative to the millions of patriotic South Africans who want to work together to see South Africa succeed,” he said.
Mashaba noted that ActionSA will realise the “South African Dream” with a credible manifesto which aims to create sustainable jobs, maintaining the rule of law and uprooting corruption in government and the education system.
He said the party’s economic policy plans to fix and capitalise old buildings and factories to enlarge the employment pool.
“Our policy on economic justice will address our painful legacy while laying the foundation for a prosperous future, by introducing the Opportunity Fund, to empower previously disadvantaged South Africans.
“We will establish a Universal Basic Income Grant in addition to social grants, and reverse apartheid spatial planning through township infrastructure investment, and safe, clean and subsidised public transport,” said Mashaba.
He continued say that with the dedicated leadership of ActionSA, citizens of this country will experience their constitutional right of safety and security, by ensuring life imprisonment and abolish parole for perpetrators of rape, drug trafficking, murder and corrupt politicians.
Mashaba added that ActionSA proposed a clean-up in the education system. “Our education policy will introduce one department of education which will bring back school inspectors to ensure that quality teaching takes place. We will ensure that principals are appointed on merit, and we will re-establish nursing, teacher and police training colleges,” he said.
The Star
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