The Patriotic Alliance (PA) yesterday welcomed dozens of members from ActionSA into its fold.
At a press conference in Sandton yesterday PA leader Kenny Kunene welcomed disgruntled members of ActionSA from different parts of Gauteng.
The members took off their ActionSA T-shirts and threw them on the floor as a sign of crossing over. Fees Must Fall leader Bonginkosi Khanyile was also among the new PA recruits.
Among the new members of the PA was Nana Bembe who was involved in several public spats with the leadership of Action SA over the unfair positioning of certain leaders and the manipulation of the PR list during the last local government elections.
"The PA is the only party that puts their money where their mouth is. Today I am excited to introduce these leaders. We have had several meetings in Gauteng with the members who were disgruntled who started the party in Tshwane and in Ekurhuleni and Soweto," Kunene said.
Bembe, who was accused of being an ANC spy in Action SA, told The Star that he was happy to start a new chapter in his political career.
He denied that he had joined Action SA to destroy it from within.
"I have never been a spy in my life. I did not like what was happening in the country that is why I joined ActionSA. The reason we had problems was I asked the right questions and I did not get the right answers and he did not like that," Bembe said.
Concerning the coalition in different parts of the country, Kunene said the PA was experiencing a rocky relationship with the ANC in the North West and in the West Rand Municipality. Despite this, he said the PA coalition in Johannesburg was intact.
"The coalition in Johannesburg is just not about the DA; there are other parties involved. We cannot just punish seven parties because of the behaviour and verbal diarrhoea that came out of the Western Cape leader. We need to be cognisant of the fact that we are not just in coalition with the DA," Kunene said.
Kunene said he wished to clarify that the PA was not xenophobic. But he said the party would launch a number of initiatives aimed at ensuring that illegal immigrants comply with the law. He said the PA was prepared to set an example in the central Karoo where it would ensure that there were no illegal foreigners walking around.
"We are not xenophobic, we do not mind the label and we know that we are patriotic and we are not going to abandon this patriotic agenda," Kunene said.
Kunene said he and EFF leader Julius Malema were still embroiled in a legal battle over public spats the two have been engaged in. The matter was currently before the equality court.