Johnathan Paoli
DA Federal Leader, John Steenhuisen, on Monday, welcomed a new member to the coalition pact currently formed by the DA, Freedom Front Plus, Inkatha Freedom Party, ActionSA, United Independent Movement and the Spectrum National Party.
The Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa (Isanco), has been announced as the 7th political party to take part in the upcoming national convention in Kempton Park.
Isanco splintered from the ANC-aligned South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) back in 2021 due to what the organisation said is the failure to address corruption within the ruling alliance, and contested as a registered political party in the 2021 municipal elections.
Isanco managed to gain 14 council seats in previously ANC-dominated strongholds.
Steenhuisen said that he viewed the latest addition as a sign of the increasing need, felt and supported by a lot of South Africans, for an alternative to remove the ANC from government and keep the EFF out of power.
“This move shows that South Africans from all walks of life, including those who had previously supported the ANC, are now looking for a credible alternative government that can move our country forward again,” Steenhuisen said.
“With the addition of Isanco, the Pact has added a party that shares our values and which has turned its back on the ANC. This sends a clear message to voters disillusioned with the ANC: the Moonshot Pact is the alternative government you have been waiting for.
“To former ANC voters who share our values and who are looking for a new political home, I say: Like Isanco, your voice and your vote is welcome inside this Pact to rescue South Africa. Isanco’s inclusion makes it clear for all to see that the Moonshot is gaining momentum and systematically becoming greater than the sum of our parts,” Steenhuisen said.
The DA leader went on to define this project not simply as an anti-ANC initiative but rather as a pro-South African project, capable of finding real solutions to the problems facing South Africa.
Steenhuisen said more than 30 leaders from these political parties will take part in the discussions, including Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Isanco president Dr Zukile Luyenge, and Herman Mashaba of ActionSA, among others.
Furthermore, it is speculated that IFP’s Velenkosi Hlabisa and not the DA leader will be the face of the Pact, due to strategic aesthetic reasons.
ActionSA Chairperson, Michael Beaumont, reportedly called for more parties to join the pact, for a more realistic chance at winning a majority hold over the national government.
“A group that does not achieve a majority cannot help the country because South Africa cannot be fixed from opposition benches, and therefore we do need a broad church of political parties that may have to agree and disagree on some things, but they can agree on some basics on how we fix our economy, how we fight crime, and how we end load shedding by way of example,” Beaumont said.
The Moonshot Pact convention is scheduled to take place on Wednesday and Thursday at Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, on the historic site of the Codesa negotiations.
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