Africa-Press – South-Africa. ActionSA welcomes another former DA member, with the party announcing the former council speaker of Knysna municipality, Julie Lopes, as a member.
Lopes left the DA on 2 June after resigning as a PR councillor. Party leader Herman Mashaba announced Lopes’s arrival to the party on Saturday at Ennerdale Primary School.
Speaking at the briefing, Lope said, “The council I just resigned from, which used to be the jewel of the Western Cape that’s Knysna, has become a cesspit.”
She detailed that these various factors contributed to her decision to leave the municipality:
Lopes is expected to lead litigation that ActionSA plans to bring against the Western Cape government for service delivery neglect. Her recruitment to ActionSA will help strengthen the party’s footprint in the Western Cape ahead of the provincial and national elections next year.
She is said to help compile legal cases focused on service delivery matters that ActionSA believes need to be attended to by the Western Cape provincial government.
Lopes will work closely with the party’s Western Cape chairperson, Michelle Wasserman, who clarified that ActionSA was not “actively” aiming to recruit DA members.
Wasserman said, “We are certainly not poaching. People are actively looking at ActionSA as a solution for the future.”
Speaking to News24 on Friday, ActionSA insiders said that the party wants to dispel the idea, often punted by the DA, that the Western Cape was the best-governed province.
ActionSA is viewed as a close political rival to the DA. Lopes, who remained a DA councillor following her ousting as Speaker via a motion of no confidence by The ANC/PA coalition, said she joined ActionSA due to its ability to bring about change.
She said, “A change is needed, and the change that is needed is exactly what ActionSA is offering. Decisive actions, let’s fix this country. Action speaks louder than words. We need proper ethical government.”
For More News And Analysis About South-Africa Follow Africa-Press
