{"id":100235,"date":"2025-09-03T10:07:42","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T08:07:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=100235"},"modified":"2025-09-03T10:09:51","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T08:09:51","slug":"five-years-on-actionsa-confronts-past-missteps-and-stands-firm-on-neutrality-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/five-years-on-actionsa-confronts-past-missteps-and-stands-firm-on-neutrality-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Years On, ActionSA Confronts Past Missteps and Focuses on Future Growth"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim |\u00a0neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a>
\n3-minute read
\n03 September 2025 | 08:45 CAT<\/p>\n

\"\"

ActionSA marks 5 years of growth and political engagement.<\/p><\/div>\n

ActionSA marked its fifth anniversary over the weekend, reflecting on its role in South Africa\u2019s political landscape. Party leader Herman Mashaba used the milestone to acknowledge mistakes, outline lessons learnt, and reaffirm the party\u2019s independence going forward.<\/p>\n

In an interview with Radio Islam International<\/em><\/a>, Mashaba conceded that ActionSA\u2019s earlier ties with the DA proved costly. \u201cOur association with the DA was a fatal mistake, which allowed the DA to decampaign us. We underestimated the fear of the DA by black voters,\u201d he said. This, he added, contributed to support for Jacob Zuma\u2019s MK party. \u201cI really want to admit, I underestimated Jacob Zuma\u2019s influence,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n

Despite setbacks, Mashaba insists the party is gaining ground. \u201cSouth Africans today are aware that ActionSA is a totally independent organisation. That is why you see this massive growth of branches being opened and independent activists becoming councillors,\u201d he explained. The party says it has attracted 45 councillors since the start of the year without contesting by-elections.<\/p>\n

On the arrival of new political movements, including one initiated by Floyd Shivambu, Mashaba welcomed competition. \u201cWe live in a democratic space. People are concerned about the ANC\u2019s corruption and the DA being run by the brutal bourgeoisie. So, there\u2019s a huge opportunity for alternative voices,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Much of the scrutiny, however, remains on ActionSA\u2019s stance of neutrality on the Palestine issue. \u201cPeople wanted us to take a position, but the Middle East is a very complex matter. We wish for leadership that can get communities to co-exist,\u201d Mashaba explained.<\/p>\n

While Mashaba defends neutrality as pragmatic, critics argue that in the face of what many international observers and South Africans recognise as a genocide, silence is not an option. South Africa has historically played a role in championing global human rights, and many believe that distancing ourselves from Palestine\u2019s plight undermines that legacy.<\/p>\n

Mashaba counters that South Africans remain preoccupied with domestic struggles. \u201cOver 50 percent of our people don\u2019t know where their next meal is going to come from. When we talk about human rights, let\u2019s talk about the human rights of South Africans first,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Still, South Africa\u2019s own history of overcoming apartheid shapes public expectation. For many, solidarity with Palestine is not just a foreign policy question but a moral responsibility, a reminder that the struggle against injustice anywhere remains intertwined with our identity as a nation that overcame oppression.<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on Sabahul Muslim<\/em> <\/a>with Moulana Sulaimaan Ravat and Herman Masahaba.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim |\u00a0neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read 03 September 2025 | 08:45 CAT ActionSA marked its fifth anniversary over the weekend, reflecting on its role in South Africa\u2019s political landscape. Party leader Herman Mashaba used the milestone to acknowledge mistakes, outline lessons learnt, and reaffirm the party\u2019s independence going forward. In an interview with Radio Islam International, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":100236,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ActionSA.jpg?fit=346%2C146&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-q4H","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-13 17:50:40","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100235\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}