Cape Town - Former DA federal chairperson and Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Athol Trollip will be contesting the upcoming Nelson Mandela Bay by-election under the banner of ActionSA.
The ward became vacant following the death of ward 43 ANC councillor Andile Andries and the party’s branch secretary, Lubabalo Keso, who died in a hail of bullets recently.
The by-election is expected to take place in July.
Trollip had become the latest DA leader to join ActionSA following his resignation from the party in 2019.
He said looking back, he had no regrets.
“I left the DA and resigned from all the positions I held out of principle. I regard myself as a conviction politician, not a career politician, and I lost my conviction in the DA. I have no regrets and I am enjoying being in a new political party that is organically multiracial and focused on building critical mass support to replace the ANC.
“Two years later, Mashaba asked me to help him save South Africa and the Eastern Cape and I basically said ‘I’d had enough’, and he countered by asking had I done enough? The sorry state of the Eastern Cape answered that question and I was convinced to do more while I can,” he said.
Trollip claimed the UDM had sided with the EFF and the ANC “to cut the throat of whiteness” and remove him as mayor in 2018.
“The city of NMBM (Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality) has been an example of chaos and political instability since. Some political parties prefer chaos as this creates an environment for corruption to flourish. ActionSA is offering South Africans an entirely new approach to government and when we win this ward we can bring political stability to a new coalition to govern NMBM without the inept, greedy and careless ANC and its acolytes," he said.
"I thought the DA handled Mmusi Maimane appallingly after the 2019 elections and the fact that the DA believed the return of Helen Zille to its leadership team represented their future interests best, were the two things that led to my resignation," added Trollip.
ActionSA president Herman Mashaba said they had entrusted Trollip to make the necessary arrangements and win the ward.
“KwaNobuhle is a forgotten community in a corner of the NMBM and we will be doing everything possible to identify the very best candidate who is a resident in the ward to represent ActionSA and the people of ward 43 in the by-election scheduled to take place on July 6.
“Change has already come to Nelson Mandela Bay when everyone, especially the ANC, said it wouldn’t, and it’s set to happen again with ActionSA preparing to have a councillor elected in the City.”
Cape Times