ActionSA: ‘DA Lite’ to March and March in council?
· Citizen
If anyone asks, this column is not about Herman Mashaba.
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The ActionSA leader stood on the floor of the IEC’s National Results Centre recently and declared that a major reason his party did so spectacularly well in the 2026 Local Government Elections was that the media was obsessed with him and illegal immigration.
“You were obsessed with it [illegal immigration and comparisons with the DA], and that helped us to be in the spotlight every day. We had limited resources, but the media came to the party, by mistake. Your intention wasn’t to help us; it was to destroy us.
“I took advantage of that,” he told the gathered press.
I am not out to destroy a party, thanks. But I am curious about just how much ActionSA will lean on anti-illegal immigration.
What crowned the kingmaker?
Mashaba’s party emerged from the elections a potential kingmaker, not just in Gauteng where it was the third biggest party and where it even beat out the ANC in Tshwane.
Looking at the map of ActionSA support, it is hard to miss the fact that the party gained a large share of its support in townships. Much of this will come from promises of service delivery and their “good work” in Tshwane, as many residents will tell you, but how do you explain nationwide support?
If it was simply good publicity from Tshwane, why aren’t other coalition partners in the city also rewarded? And if ActionSA Mayor Nasiphi Moya is to be praised for all that is right in Tshwane, should she not also be responsible for all that is wrong, like the City’s catastrophic drinking water crisis?
A bigger sway for voters was ActionSA’s “endorsement” by the anti-illegal immigration group March and March and the party’s firm stance on illegal immigration. It was seen as the antidote to the open-border EFF and the more neutral ANC and DA.
But when questioned about this, Mashaba said it was only one of six key pillars of their manifesto, and it’s all in the media – and clearly, then, judging by the results – the voters’ heads.
Perhaps those who voted thinking this was March and March on the ballot were mistaken, and that ActionSA may not be rushing to pick a fight on the border.
Distancing himself a little from illegal immigration may be a play by Mashaba to cool the heat around a burning topic so ActionSA is more palatable to coalition partners, but it will also have left many of its voters confused.
Will it really fight to curb illegal immigration, or will the topic fall to the side once council starts? Will ActionSA point to illegal immigration actually being the national government’s responsibility? A national government, they may conveniently point out, that they are not part of.
Will it march the march?
The party’s 78-page manifesto mentions illegal immigration three times, each point elaborating more than the last, but it’s thin on action plans.
It says its governed municipalities “will use every lawful municipal power available and work closely with the Department of Home Affairs, SAPS and other responsible authorities to identify and refer suspected immigration violations encountered through lawful municipal operations and ensure that these cases are followed through by the appropriate authorities.”
How will it do this?
Will it create a special municipal office for reporting, like the EFF’s labour desk? Will council agree to fund such an initiative, and what other programs are then sacrificed?
Will it hold weekly raids, and if so, how will it report on them and track them so they don’t “get lost” in the system?
Will it take a softer stance on anti-illegal immigrant marches that may flare up in the city? How will they not be seen to be sympathetic to a cause that has often turned violent and occasionally deadly?
Will they shut down shops that may be providing much-needed employment in communities simply because the owner may be in the country illegally? If so, how will they replace that business with another legitimate one?
How will they handle pressure from national and provincial government if they press the issue too hard?
These are all vital questions because illegal immigration is a major issue that is experienced every day in nearly all communities. Rightly or wrongly, it has been blamed for crime, unemployment, and strain on public services.
Done right, immigration enforcement can rejuvenate a community and develop an area, so it cannot just be a speech you dust off when you want votes.
ActionSA has talked the talk, and the voter now wants to see if it can march the march.