While putting pressure on the ANC, the Economic Freedom Fighters and uMkhonto WeSizwe Party to be more transparent, South Africa’s liberal parties continue to operate as personal fiefdoms of their founding leaders seemingly with no intention to subject themselves to any form of scrutiny.
Patriotic Alliance and Action SA lead the pact as they are older than the entire centre right which includes Mmusi Maimane’s Build One South Africa and Rise Mzansi led by former journalist Songezo Zibi.
In September 2024, Action SA through its National Chairperson Michael Beaumont and spokesperson Lerato Ngobeni said it was preparing to hold an elective conference in 2025 citing at the time, an ongoing membership renewal process.
“We are busy with a new membership system which upon completion and verification, will allow us to prepare for our first elective conference,” claimed Ngobeni without producing any evidence of the existence of the process.
Action SA is entering its 5th year of existence and has always been led in the main by Herman Mashaba and Beaumont who have carte blanche to appoint and fire people without being questioned.
On Wednesday, Mashaba announced the appointment of Mbahare Kekana as Deputy President. Kekana is expected to start a process of deregistering his Forum 4 Service Delivery as part of an amalgamation with Action SA. Mashaba claimed his appointment of Kekana was in the interest of the country.
“It is my pleasure to carry out the mandate of our Senate and other structures to appoint Dr Kekana as our deputy president. I know you all agree with me that in the interest of our country we had to make constitutional amendments to accommodate the position of deputy president,” said Mashaba during a media briefing in Johannesburg.
Mashaba used the same platform to bury the idea of internal elections stating, ” we are going to start a process of forming new branches which will at the right time hold our first elective conference when all the basics are in place. him and I are going to start the work of increasing and consolidating our support ahead of the 2026 local government elections to contest in specific localities where we think we have more support and elsewhere. Until then our work is cut out,” said Mashaba.
Lately the centre right, through their leaders and supporters have been on the EFF’s case accusing the party of sidelining individuals perceived as being opposed to its leader Julius Malema including Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi who’s fallout with Malema remains to play itself out publicly.
MKP has faced similar criticism as and when its leader former president Jacob Zuma appoints or fires individuals in spite of the fact that the party is a formalised dictatorship with a constitution that does not provide for internal elections.
The Patriotic Alliance led by sports minister Gayton Mckensie and his fellow jailbird and friend Kenny Kunene has never held an elective conference having been formed in 2013 ( same year as the EFF).
The EFF has since held 3 national conferences and a similar number at provincial as well as regional level.
Rise Mzansi and BOSA are similarly silent on ever holding internal elections and their leaders are expected to stay at the helm for the foreseeable future.