According to Action SA, their senate met last week and deliberated on a variety of matters relating to their approach to multi-party coalitions, including the question of Ekurhuleni following the reinstatement of the Executive Mayor Tania Campbell
ActionSA has announced that it will not take up positions in the re-constituted Mayoral Committee being renegotiated by the multi-party coalition in Gauteng’s Ekurhuleni Metro.
The Party said it believes in the need to fight for better service delivery for all the residents of Ekurhuleni.
This requires us to give up executive positions and ensure we can fight unencumbered by positions that co-opt our support.
Michael Beaumont, Action SA National Chairperson
The Party has furthermore raised the issue of the state of service delivery in Ekurhuleni noting that its caucus there has raised several serious concerns about basic service delivery regressing in the Metro, most notably in terms of the reliability of refuse removal, electricity, and water supply.
According to the Party, these concerns were corroborated by a public poll of over 3000 residents of Ekurhuleni in which:
- 62% of respondents felt the Metro was going in the wrong direction over the last year;
- 82% felt service delivery had gotten worse (50%) or stayed the same (32%); and
- 57% did not trust the coalition to continue governing.
The move by Action SA makes it the second party after the EFF, to donate votes in the coalition bloc that has kept the DA led administration in power in most metros.
Going forward ActionSA will form part of a voting bloc that will work to keep the ANC out of this Metro by defeating motions of no confidence and working to pass decisions that serve the service delivery needs of the residents of Ekurhuleni.