Durban – The candidate touted to fill the position of provincial chairperson of ActionSA in KwaZulu-Natal is set to have their work cut out for them.
This comes as the current chairperson Dr Makhosi Khoza steps down.
ActionSA president Herman Mashaba on Thursday announced that Khoza will be stepping down from the role to assume the position of chairperson of the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC).
According to Mashaba, he and Khoza agreed she cannot perform dual roles, given the high load of work a provincial chairperson in the province has to do as part of ActionSA's build-up to the 2024 national and provincial elections.
The MPAC is tasked with conducting oversight over the executive municipal officials and to ensure good governance in the municipality.
Mashaba indicated that an announcement on who would succeed Khoza would be made in due course.
“The outcome arises from Dr Khoza’s election to the position of the chairperson of the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC), a critical role in the fight against corruption and malfeasance which has been prolific in the municipality (eThekwini).
“The engagements held came to the view that the MPAC was not anticipated or planned for, but is an extremely important role for both the residents of eThekwini and ActionSA. It represents an opportunity to see the first real fight against wrongdoing in eThekwini,” Mashaba said.
During the 2021 local government election, which was the party’s debut in the political sphere, Khoza gained political ground in Durban, securing four seats on the council and obtained 1.93% of the vote.
As a collective, ActionSA obtained 29 846 votes in eThekwini during its first election.
The political party funding report released by the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) last month showed that Mary Oppenheimer's three daughters, Rebecca Oppenheimer, Victoria Freudenheim and Jessica Slack-Jell collectively contributed around R10 million to ActionSA in the second quarter.
South African businessman Martin Moshal contributed R5 million to the party.
Political Bureau