DA risks losing out on all Gauteng metros as ActionSA closes in on a deal with the ANC

ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba said they are close to striking a deal with the ANC and that he is confident it will happen.

ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont added that they are making progress towards the multi-party solutions.

This solution, he said, will address the dual problems of instability and service-delivery collapse in municipalities across South Africa.

Beaumont shared these comments following a discussion with a delegation from the African National Congress (ANC).

Many DA and ActionSA supporters want the two parties to work together in Gauteng, and Mashaba previously said he offered DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis a deal.

He said that the DA can govern Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni, and that ActionSA should maintain Nasiphi Moya as Tshwane mayor.

However, there was a caveat. Helen Zille could not be Johannesburg mayor. He said that this was a deal-breaker. To date, the DA would not budge.

“ActionSA doesn’t have a DA problem. We have problems with Helen Zille and Cilliers Brink who have demonstrated racism and their contempt for black people,” he said.

“If the DA doesn’t feel comfortable with our demand, that is up to them. We’re not putting a knife to their throat.”

Mashaba said that he made it clear that he could work with the DA if Zille and Brink are removed as candidates.

“I subsequently met with the DA on Thursday in my office, and that condition still stands. It’s up to them to decide,” he said.

“I’m not the one to decide who they must put forward. But as ActionSA, they can forget about getting our vote.”

“We as ActionSA are not going to give them our black support to go and support people who don’t want to see black people advancing.”

PA leader Gayton McKenzie’s prediction

Should ActionSA make a deal with the ANC, it would align with Patriotic Alliance (PA) leader Gayton McKenzie’s prediction that the DA will lose out in the coalitions.

McKenzie predicted that the ANC will form a coalition with ActionSA, the EFF, and the MK Party in the Gauteng metros.

This will result in the ANC governing Ekurhuleni, while ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba will become Johannesburg mayor.

ActionSA will also govern the City of Tshwane, with the former mayor Nasiphi Moya taking the reins again.

He argued that by locking the DA out of the main metros, the ANC strips the party of its bargaining power in the government of national unity (GNU).

“If the DA does not behave at the GNU level, the ANC will tell them that it has the option to work with the EFF and MK,” he said.

“It removed the leverage the DA had, which is the threat that the government will collapse if they leave.”

He said that should the DA and Freedom Front Plus no longer be part of the GNU, it would open the door for the EFF and MK Party.

“The language has shifted. The MK and EFF’s stance can change from ‘we hate the GNU’ to ‘we will join if the VF+ and the DA are no longer part of it’,” he said.

He added that the DA has golden handcuffs, as they can’t walk away from the GNU because the business community will not forgive them.

“The GNU is one of the biggest achievements of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s term. Business loves the GNU, and people love the GNU,” he said.

Herman Mashaba said he will not be bullied

Herman Mashaba published an article on Saturday, 14 November 2026, where he said he would not be bullied into political decisions.

Although he did not say it outright, it is understood that this reflected the desire of many stakeholders for ActionSA to partner with the DA in Gauteng.

“There comes a time when political disagreement must be separated from outright disrespect,” he said.

“I have reached a point where I will no longer remain silent while people attempt to bully, undermine and dictate to the political organisation I lead and me.”

“ActionSA is an independent political party. We are not an extension of the DA, the ANC, the EFF or any other political organisation.”

Mashaba said that ActionSA is not a political project that requires permission from other parties to make decisions.

He cited numerous problems with the DA, including not receiving support as Johannesburg mayor during his time in the party.

He also pointed to the Democratic Alliance and Helen Zille collapsing coalitions and reneging on its promises as part of the Multiparty Charter.

The Multiparty Charter was established on an understanding that its signatories would work together to remove the ANC from national government.

“Yet, in May 2024, the DA entered into discussions with the ANC following the national elections. It subsequently joined the ANC-led Government of National Unity,” he said.

He said that political pragmatism is accepted when the DA exercises it, but is unacceptable when ActionSA makes an independent decision.

“ActionSA is held to standards that other political parties are apparently free to disregard. I refuse to accept this double standard,” he said.

“We will not be intimidated into making decisions to satisfy political egos. We will not allow outsiders to determine our political future.”

“Let me conclude by making something abundantly clear. I’m not asking for respect. I’m demanding it.”