Latest news with #AtholTrollip
IOL News
3 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
ActionSA declines participation in Government of National Unity amidst scathing review
ActionSA's parliamentary leader Athol Trollip says ActionSA is not joining the GNU. Image: Henk Kruger/Independent Newspapers ActionSA has made a U-turn on its interest in joining the Government of National Unity (GNU) just two months after it partnered with the ANC, which leads the GNU, in passing the Budget vote. The party released its "GNU Performance Tracker" on Tuesday, which aims to objectively assess the coalition government's performance last year. The tracker paints a bleak picture of the government's failures, awarding it a series of failing grades across six critical themes, including ethical leadership and public service, the economy, infrastructure, basic services, education, and crime. Despite indications from its leader, Herman Mashaba, just months ago that it may consider joining the coalition, that includes the DA, Action SA has slammed the GNU effectively ruling out joining. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ A while ago the party saved the ANC from being embarrassed after it voted with them during the passing of the 0.5 percentage point VAT hike and the fiscal framework document in parliament. Mashaba, at the time, had shown interest in joining the GNU. However, ActionSA's parliamentary leader, Athol Trollip, has ruled out these assertions, saying his party would rather focus on being a constructive opposition. Trollip said supporting the ANC in passing the Budget did not mean they were interested in joining the GNU. 'We have always maintained that the ANC when we were backing them during the budget battle, that we didn't want any incentives or to be part of the GNU,' he reportedly said. He added that his party did not regret its decision not to join the GNU arrangement a year ago. While the EFF and the uMkhonto weSizwe Party also widely criticised the GNU's performance one year on, ActionSA gave the government an F for leadership and public service, citing excessive government spending and criticising the size of the "bloated cabinet". ActionSA MP Alan Beasley painted a grim picture of unemployment and the economy, awarding the government an F-grade. "In South Africa, we have 8.3 million people unemployed. There are a further 3.5 million workers who have been discouraged who have given up looking for work. So, there are nearly 12 million South Africans that are unemployed — 12 million South Africans that are being psychologically murdered because of unemployment," Beasley said. ActionSA's education assessment revealed critical systemic failures, with the high school dropout rate alarming. Only 53.6% of students who start grade 10 complete matric, a number that had dropped from 55.3% in 2024. The crime landscape also remained dire, with a staggering 5,727 murders recorded between January and March 2025. "We don't want to be in the Government of National Unity. We are perfectly placed between a hegemonic GNU and a big, but hopeless opposition," Trollip said. He said the party will focus on being a constructive opposition, supporting where it can and opposing where it must.
IOL News
4 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Coalition governments - 'a year of unfulfilled promises'
File: President Cyril Ramaphosa with leaders of political parties that are signatories to the Government of National Unity (GNU) at Genadendal, the President's official residence in Cape Town on November 11, 2024. This month marks one year since the GNU was formed. Image: GCIS The coalition of political parties leading the country has failed to improve the living conditions of South Africans. This was the assessment of opposition parties outside the Government of National Unity (GNU) and the Government of Provincial Unity (GPU) that leads KwaZulu-Natal as the one-year anniversary of the coalition governments was marked this week. The two structures were formed last year after the African National Congress (ANC) failed to win the majority of the vote in the national government elections. The GNU is made up of close to 10 parties, while the GPU in KZN consists of the ANC, Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Democratic Alliance (DA), and the National Freedom Party (NFP). ActionSA was scathing in its criticism of the GNU, saying that it has been an expensive exercise for the country without any returns. Athol Trollip, ActionSA Parliamentary Leader, said the metrics have been poor since the GNU took over. He noted that the formation of the GNU saw the cabinet expand from 30 to 32 ministers and from 36 to 43 deputy ministers. Salaries, staff, and related perks for newly appointed ministers and deputy ministers alone have increased the cabinet's budget by almost R250 million each year, an outrageous financial burden placed on already overburdened taxpayers. 'Under the GNU, the expanded unemployment rate increased from 42.6% to 43.1%. According to the latest employment figures, nearly 300 000 people lost their jobs in the first quarter of 2025 alone. The painful truth is that in the GNU's first year, annual growth did not exceed the 1% ceiling, which is less than population growth. Even for the current financial year, National Treasury projects an overly optimistic, but still inadequate, growth rate of 1.4%. As long as growth remains this low, the heartbreak of joblessness is likely to persist. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ 'While isolated pockets of improvement may be cited in certain areas, they have yielded little to no tangible impact on the prevailing socio-economic conditions in South Africa. The data continues to tell a sobering story that over the past 12 months, this government has paraded itself as a project of renewal, while the facts point to an administration that has mastered the art of governance through a thin veil of public relations,' Trollip said. Speaking on the GNU, Makashule Gana of Rise Mzansi said, 'It has been a huge learning experience about one another and the necessary compromises needed to make the government work. A year in, it is clear that we need structures that get the wheels going. I am confident that the second year of the GNU will work better.' Assessing the GPU in KZN, EFF leader in the province, Mongezi Twala, said, 'The GPU appears to be collapsing in the province. We have never seen a situation where there is disruption in teaching and learning because the Department of Education has failed to pay money for norms and standards. We have never seen a situation where some hospitals are not functioning because supplies have not been paid. Add to that, the allegations of gender-based violence in the Premier's office that have forced the Director-General to resign. This is not a government of the people; it's a government that cares less about the people,' said Twala. Political analyst Syabonga Ntombela stated that the GNU has managed to stabilise the economy of South Africa, which could have been worse than it is currently. He added that the GNU had managed to curtail some of the government proposals, including the VAT increase that would have ordinarily passed if the ANC was still enjoying an outright majority. 'The GNU has shielded the ANC from the onslaught that began last year during the general elections in May. The evidence of this is demonstrated by the ANC's performance in the by-elections. So, the ANC will not suffer worse than most people think or wish because of the GNU's performance in some strategic areas of society and the economy,' he said.
IOL News
4 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
One Year of GNU: Four Fs for failure with no accountability
A year into South Africa's Government of National Unity, political compromise remains elusive, raising concerns about gridlock, infrastructure decay, and coalition fragility amid hopes for economic reform and unity. Image: Supplied One year after the formation of South Africa's Government of National Unity (GNU), ActionSA has released a blistering assessment of its performance, warning that the coalition is failing to deliver on its mandate. The party, which holds six seats in Parliament, graded the GNU with four "F" scores across critical categories—ethical leadership, economic growth, service delivery, and law and order—raising serious concerns about the government's direction and effectiveness. But the over score it had to the government was E - Very Poor Performance. In its report, ActionSA accused the coalition of lacking vision, coherent policy strategy, and meaningful reform. The party described the GNU as adrift, saying it had yet to demonstrate the leadership required to tackle South Africa's deepening socio-economic crises. Parliamentary leader, Athol Trollip, said the GNU has failed to deliver meaningful reform. 'The consequence of this failure is a country caught in the grip of stagnation and regression, rather than progress, growth, and measurable improvement. 'While isolated pockets of improvement may be cited in certain areas, they have yielded little to no tangible impact on the prevailing socio-economic conditions in South Africa,' Trollip said. ActionSA reiterated that the GNU has not moved the needle in bettering the lives of struggling citizens. However, ActionSA has blasted the lack of a formal coalition agreement, citing a growing leadership void and policy stagnation as it marks one year after the signing of the political declaration that created the GNU. The party's national chairperson Michael Beaumont pointed to President Cyril Ramaphosa's unmet pledge to call a policy lekgotla and denounced what he described as a lack of political will. The GNU has been weakened from the beginning by the absence of strategic direction, Beaumont stated. This is after he engaged young South Africans in the streets of the inner city of Johannesburg about their perceptions of change in the country under the GNU. 'To put it mildly, young South Africans are giving the GNU a thumbs down,' he said. Parties like the MK Party and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have also criticised the unity government, saying it was against the poor especially because the DA is part of it. [email protected] IOL Politics
Eyewitness News
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
ActionSA proposes constitutional amendments to stem SA's immigration problems
CAPE TOWN - ActionSA is proposing a raft of amendments to the Constitution aimed at stemming the country's immigration problems. Among these are changes to the Bill of Rights on provisions related to housing, healthcare and education. The party's Athol Trollip says that for too long, the country's hospitality and limited resources have been exploited. The deadline for submissions to Parliament's constitutional review committee closed on Saturday, with it having already received more than 200 submissions by late last month. ALSO READ: Motsoaledi tables new Immigration Amendment Bill ActionSA says amendments to the Constitution should start with the preamble, which has been used to extend constitutional protections even to those residing in the country illegally. The party says this deliberate misreading has placed undue pressure on limited public resources. Parliamentary leader Athol Trollip says amendments should also be made to Chapter 2 of the Bill of Rights in respect of Sections 26 and 27, related to housing and healthcare, respectively. "This is an area of exploitation that has a massive impact on our economy, and our municipality's ability to deliver the services required by people living in this country." Trollip says more than 70% of patient files at Johannesburg clinics belong to foreign nationals, while there's also pressure on schools to find placements for learners, prompting a recommendation to also amend Section 29 on education. "To provide only citizens, legal immigrants, and legally recognised residents, rather than all people living in South Africa, because this is where the illegal immigration crisis impacts our country so dramatically." It will now be up to the parliamentary committee to hold oral hearings and to debate whether to propose amendments to the house, which will require a two-thirds majority to pass.
Eyewitness News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
ActionSA says not much engagement with ANC since helping it pass budget 3.0
Thabiso Goba 21 May 2025 | 10:15 ActionSA Budget Speech Government of national unity (GNU) ActionSA parliamentary leader, Athol Trollip, during debate on the State of the Nation Address in Parliament on 11 February 2025. Picture: GCIS JOHANNESBURG - ActionSA says it has not had much engagement with the African National Congress (ANC) since assisting it to pass the previous budget. ActionSA, which is not part of the Government of National Unity (GNU), voted with the ANC to pass the April budget, which was later set aside by the Western Cape High Court. On Wednesday afternoon, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will make a third attempt to table a budget in Parliament. READ: Budget 3.0 Godongwana's moment of truth As the rain poured in Cape Town ahead of the budget speech, ActionSA seems to have been left out in the cold. The party's parliamentary leader, Athol Trollip, said they only worked with the ANC to avert a crisis, not to enter the GNU. "We really don't care what it looks like, we have a government of national unity (GNU), they are going to use their majority to pass the budget and that's fine because they need to implement the budget, this is their baby and while they do that, they need to consider the massive unemployment programme in the country." Trollip said they were expecting more money to be allocated to the South African Revenue Service (SARS) so it can go after tax evaders. He said government should also consider cutting the bloated GNU cabinet and its perks. ALSO READ: ActionSA warns of doom in manufacturing industry, calls for speedy economic reforms 'We really don't care what it looks like,' Athol Trollip, ActionSA parliamentary leader on whether the party has been frozen out by the ANC now that there is consensus in the GNU over the budget. TCG — EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) May 21, 2025
