Herman Mashaba Announces Plans for Tea Party with Bongani Baloyi, Wants Him to Join ActionSA

Herman Mashaba Announces Plans for Tea Party with Bongani Baloyi, Wants Him to Join ActionSA

  • Herman Mashaba wants to invite Bongani Baloyi to a "tea party" to discuss his future after leaving the Democratic Alliance (DA)
  • Mashaba said that he wanted Baloyi to join ActionSA when the party was first formed, but he was unsuccessful
  • According to Helen Zille, Baloyi no longer wishes to pursue a career in politics, but Mashaba denies these claims

JOHANNESBURG - Herman Mashaba, the president of ActionSA, has said that he wants to invite Bongani Baloyi, who left the DA yesterday, for a "tea party" to discuss his political future.

Mashaba said that the purpose of the meeting would be to engage on the possibility of Baloyi joining ActionSA. This is not the first time that Mashaba approached Baloyi about working together.

According to Newzroom Afrika, when Mashaba first formed ActionSA he had Baloyi in mind for a leadership position within the party, but he was not successful.

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Herman Mashaba, ActionSA, Bongani Baloyi, Democratic Alliance, DA, tea party, meeting
Herman Mashaba has declared that he wants to meet with Bongani Baloyi following his exit from the DA. Image: Papi Morake/Gallo Images via Getty Images
Source: Getty Images

The way forward for Mashaba and Baloyi

When Helen Zille, the federal chair of the DA, was asked about Baloyi leaving the party, she said that he was retiring from politics altogether, but Mashaba denies her claims.

Mashaba says that he is hopeful that Baloyi will continue his political career and plans to discuss his plans for the future when they meet, TimesLIVE reports.

“He is someone I admire. Someone I tried, when we launched ActionSA, to bring into our fold. I could not succeed at the time, but this presents an opportunity for us to engage him, and I hope we are successful this time around, " Mashaba said.

South Africa reacts to Mashaba's proposed meeting

@m_mmotlana said:

"The guy made it clear that he will still be in politics. He only resigned from DA, not from politics."

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@zamapnz believes:

"Yes, Baloyi has a warm home in ActionSA."

@AfrikaThabiso shared:

"Building the party from ground up is the best strategy. Head hunting people will only lead to disaster."

@mutshekwanel said:

"He is most welcome, come January 2022 he'll be ActionSA material."

@kekga shared:

"There is never one way of doing things that is always the sure way. ActionSA is not your traditional political party that puts allegiance over excellence. Anyone with a good track record or skills will come above the rest. People should stop joining politics for positions."

DA's Bongani Baloyi leaves the opposition party after 14 years of public service, says he was not forced

Yesterday, Briefly News reported that Bongani Baloyi, who until recently served as the Executive Mayor of the Midvaal Local Municipality, announced that he will no longer be working for the Democratic Alliance (DA).

Baloyi announced his exit from the opposition party on social media, emphasising that it was his choice to leave and he was not forced to do so.

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Baloyi has a track record of scoring high in his past seven audits, which points to him running the municipality in a stable and financially sound manner.

Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Claudia Gross avatar

Claudia Gross (Editor) Claudia Gross holds an MA in Journalism from Stellenbosch University. She joined Briefly's Current Affairs desk in 2021. Claudia enjoys blending storytelling and journalism to bring unique angles to hard news. She looks forward to a storied journalistic career.