Former Eastern Cape DA leader Athol Trollip told DispatchLIVE on Wednesday he had joined ActionSA as he believed it could dislodge the ANC from its position of dominance in the province.
“This is what one needs if you want to really bring about change. You need to get a critical mass of voting support to dislodge the current government and to offer SA something different, because the people are desperate.”
Trollip was unveiled as a new member of ActionSA and the party’s Eastern Cape chair during a press briefing by party leader Herman Mashaba on Wednesday.
He comes with big plans to grow the membership of his new political home to contest the national government elections in 2024.
Trollip left the DA two years ago due to internal friction and has been out of active politics ever since.
Trollip said Mashaba had asked him to answer his call to national service, and he joined the fledgling party because he believed it had the potential to attract people from across the SA political spectrum.
Rural Eastern Cape towns were like ghost towns that saw economic activity only on pension day, and that needed to change.
“The ANC has broken almost every single electoral promise they made. I like Mashaba’s pragmatism, he’s a man of action and I want to come and bring my action into ActionSA.
“I’ve spent the past two years out of active party politics and I’ve worked in the Eastern Cape, primarily in rural areas, and I’ve seen the devastation of what the economy has done to rural areas. “It’s just chaotic to see our country under the current cabinet.”
Trollip said while he didn’t have plans to take over the Nelson Mandela Bay metro, his commitment was to ActionSA for the next two years in the build-up towards the 2024 elections.
“My plan is to build structures and a coherent electoral offer to the people of the Eastern Cape.
“We are going to contest the national elections in every single province and I believe ActionSA will do very well and we will get a lot of people elected to the National Assembly and to provincial legislatures.
“I believe that my final term of office will be in the National Assembly because I have experience there and I’ll be able to provide leadership and assistance in that regard to the ActionSA caucus in the assembly.”
Trollip said his message to the people of the province who wanted to join the party and hold political office was for them to bring in the people.
Asked about her thoughts on Trollip joining ActionSA, DA federal council chair Helen Zille said: “He left the DA two years ago so he can join any party he wants to join. I have nothing further to say about this.”
DA provincial leader Nqaba Bhanga said it was a sad day for him that someone of Trollip’s calibre was officially lost to the party.
“He contributed immensely in building the DA in this province and therefore it can’t be a good day for us as a party.
“Though he left the DA two years ago he remains the good man he always was and we wish him the best of luck in his new organisation.”
Bhanga said they were worried some of their members might leave the party with Trollip.
“However, this is how politics work. We also have members who were once in other parties and we will surely get ActionSA members joining us one day because that’s how the game works.”
Political analyst Ongama Mtimka said with the ActionSA roping in Trollip, the party was set to make great political inroads in the province.
“It’s good to see Trollip and Mashaba joining forces.
“This puts ActionSA in a good position to grow in the Eastern Cape, especially in a political environment in which the dominant political party (ANC) is declining and the main opposition parties have failed to gain traction.”
Mtimka said the former provincial DA leader understood the politics of the province better, more especially the Nelson Mandela Bay region.
“Trollip understands the politics of the Eastern Cape and as the leader he will be able to put in the right pillars in the province.
“Even if he does not have a significant command across all the regions of the province, he will still be able to make good recruitment that will see the party growing.”
Mtimka said with a seasoned political leader like Trollip in its ranks, ActionSA was set to put in a good performance during 2024 elections.
“By recruiting Trollip, they have made a momentum-boosting move that can put them in the right direction to see them making a significant performance in the national and provincial elections.” — Additional reporting by Sithandiwe Velaphi
DispatchLIVE
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