There is something deeply comforting about politicians who mistake their own internal monologue for the voice of destiny. It spares everyone else the bother of guessing why a perfectly viable political movement is currently careening towards a brick wall with the acceleration of a runaway municipal water tanker.

Consider the current political landscape. As the dust settles on the local government elections, provincial rugby club bars after a heavy defeat look positively orderly by comparison. Bruised egos, flying tankards, and a lingering aroma of stale rancour are practically standard issue. Right in the middle of this glorious administrative smash-up stands Herman Mashaba. With the steady resolve of a man determined to saw off the exact branch on which he is comfortably seated, the ActionSA leader appears intent on ensuring his personal grievances take precedence over the minor inconvenience of actually governing South Africa’s most critical metropolitan areas.

The Mathematics of Magic and Municipal Despair

A genuine, functioning alignment between the Democratic Alliance (DA) and ActionSA across multiple metros holds the sort of transformative potential that normally only exists in political fairy tales. Imagine, if you will, the sheer administrative magic of a coordinated, pragmatic axis spanning Johannesburg, Tshwane, and Ekurhuleni.

For the first time in a generation, the economic heartland of South Africa could boast stable, predictable governance where basic service delivery is not held hostage by ideological tantrums or municipal embezzlement. Investors would breathe a collective sigh of relief. Potholes might actually be filled before they swallow small livestock, and billing systems might function with something resembling mathematical coherence.

Unfortunately, that grand vision is currently being vigorously garroted on the altar of Mr Mashaba’s wounded pride.

Anatomy of a Grudge: Why the Leader Hates the Blue Machine

To understand the roadblock, one must examine the profound psychological architecture of the grievance. Mr Mashaba’s hostility towards the DA is not merely a policy disagreement; it is a full-blown theological crusade. His stormy departure from the DA in 2019 left him with political burns that time has apparently failed to heal.

To hear him tell it today, ActionSA’s previous association with the party was an error on par with the charge of the Light Brigade, executed with twice the enthusiasm and none of the military justification. While he reserves a special brand of frostiness for Helen Zille, his broader objection is anchored in the belief that the DA is fundamentally unsuited to genuine partnership. He views his former political home through a lens of permanent betrayal, transforming policy friction into an unforgivable personal insult that demands a perpetual, blood-sworn vendetta.

The Trumpian Playbook in South African Politics

Unsurprisingly, comparisons with Donald Trump have begun to circulate. Far from being lazy punditry, it is a structural diagnosis. Both gentlemen share a profound conviction that a political party is nothing more than an ego with a banner. In that universe, institutions, long-standing alliances, and strategic coherence are cheerfully tossed on to the bonfire if they fail to genuflect before the supreme leader’s daily emotional weather report.

Is ActionSA being taken down that exact same scenic route to oblivion?

ActionSA was launched on the market as a fresh, bracing alternative to the tired old pantomime of conventional politics. It promised efficient municipal management, unshakeable accountability, and professional competence. Those are magnificent ambitions. Sadly, they appear entirely secondary to Mr Mashaba’s ongoing determination to settle old scores.

Enter the Lieutenants: Why Michael Beaumont Must Grow a Backbone

This brings us squarely to the internal mechanics of ActionSA and the urgent responsibility resting on the shoulders of leaders like national chairperson Michael Beaumont.

Mr Beaumont and his competent colleagues cannot simply sit back and nod sagely while the founder steers the ship on to the rocks of irrelevance. There comes a defining moment in the life of any political upstart party where the architects must choose between personal loyalty to a charismatic patriarch and the broader salvation of the country.

Mr Beaumont and the party’s leadership cadre must push back hard against Mr Mashaba’s towering ego. They need to remind him, firmly and without equivocation, that the party belongs to the hundreds of thousands of South Africans who voted for clean governance, not to an aggrieved individual running a personal therapy session. If ActionSA’s coalition strategy is governed entirely by its founder’s emotional milestones, the party will inevitably shrink into a regional vanity project.

A Nation Held Hostage

Coalition politics is an unromantic, grubby business. It requires politicians to sup with devils they distrust, work alongside colleagues they despise, and compromise on matters they hold dear. Granted, the DA is certainly not above criticism, having frequently featured a level of tactical rigidity that would make a Prussian drill sergeant weep. ActionSA is entirely entitled to demand rigorous, binding agreements on service delivery and financial integrity.

What neither party is entitled to do is hold the residents of Gauteng hostage because their respective chieftains cannot bear to inhabit the same postal code.

Voters do not cast ballots to finance a politician’s emotional closure. They vote for stable bins, functioning traffic lights, and municipal audits that do not read like transcripts from a fraud trial. Broader national interests demand better. South Africa possesses the industrial depth, financial infrastructure, and human capital to anchor economic recovery across the continent, yet that potential is systematically undermined when governance is treated as amateur theatricals.

Mr Mashaba must decide whether his final monument will be found in the cities he helps rebuild or the bridges he gleefully dynamites. And ActionSA’s leadership must decide whether their primary purpose is to serve the citizens of South Africa, or simply to act as the fan club for a founder who refuses to let bygones be bygones.

Dr Ivor Blumenthal is a specialist in labour law, skills development, organisational strategy and workplace governance, with senior leadership experience including Regional HR Manager, CEO of the Services SETA, EU representative for South Africa, Vice President of WorldSkills and Johannesburg City Councillor. His expertise spans employment relations, regulatory compliance, human capital development and institutional reform, underpinned by legal, psychological and commercial expertise, with a longstanding passion for radio and journalism.