Bongani Baloyi eyes Gauteng premier post on an ActionSA ticket

Bongani Baloyi has revealed his ambitions to become premier of Gauteng in 2024 in his new political home, ActionSA.

The former Midvaal mayor, who left the DA late last year, this week joined ActionSA and has already set his eyes on his next move. Baloyi said this week that he would raise his hand for premier of the economic hub when ActionSA opens nominations ahead of the 2024 national and provincial elections.

“I am one of those who intends to put their names in the internal party process as a premier candidate for Gauteng. Definitely, I’m going to do it,” Baloyi said excitedly during an interview with TimesLIVE.

Baloyi was unveiled as a new member of ActionSA this week by the party’s leader Herman Mashaba.

He joins a long list of former DA members who have joined new kid on the block ActionSA. These include Funzi Ngobeni, John Moodey, Abel Tau and Michael Beaumont.

He believes ActionSA will garner enough votes in Gauteng in 2024 to see him become premier.

“If it’s a coalition, ActionSA will be the dominant party. We will be the party with the lion's share. In terms of numbers it will be ActionSA, and then the rest, in Gauteng,” he said.

“In 2024 we are contesting all of the country. Herman [Mashaba] will be president; we are pushing for him to be president of the country in 2024.”

ActionSA is attractive to Baloyi because of its approach to politics and its performance in last year’s local government elections, having made great strides in Gauteng municipalities such Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane, where the party became kingmakers in coalition agreements.

These are strides, Baloyi said, the DA failed to achieve in 20 years.

“So in one election, just one year, that tells you the voting base is there and also gets support in Sandton. We have not even gone out to Emfuleni, in Midvaal, to test the waters there. That’s where I come in,” Baloyi said.

“We are going to show you miracles. We are going to show you ... people are going to move with us. We are going to run an inspirational campaign that speaks to those who are already registered to vote and are voting, and those who are registered to vote but are not voting.

“We are also going to reach out to those who are not registered to vote and have no interest and are despondent young people, because the type of leadership ActionSA is going to present to them is the type of leadership they will resonate with.”

He said ActionSA brought a different type of politics that would attract voters who have become despondent.

“I believe our unique selling proposal, which has got us here, is something that we’re going to leverage on. The people that we’re bringing, the type of ideas, the type of politics we’re leading and how we are going to immerse ourselves across all of SA in many ways that are genuine — and it will make sense to South Africans in their own spaces. So we are really going for the jugular.

“We understand that we are daring mighty things, the impossible, but many people have achieved what people thought was impossible.”

TimesLIVE