Johannesburg - ActionSA’s latest high-profile member, Athol Trollip, will be taking up his position as the party’s Eastern Cape chairperson.
In an announcement in Gqeberha, Trollip said he had joined ActionSA because he wanted to see “real” democratic change in South Africa.
He said when he left politics, his family were happy, especially his children after they saw the toll that politics had taken on him.
“But, I have a political fire that never dies in my belly,” Trollip said, adding that when ActionSA president Herman Mashaba asked him to join his party, he thought long and hard before agreeing.
“I have joined ActionSA because I want to see real democratic change happening again in South Africa in my life,” said Trollip.
He said many people of his age thought they wouldn’t see political change.
“We did see change in 1994. I want to see real political change coming again. I have realised that change does not happen on its own. All other change comes with action and that is why I am here,” Trollip said.
He said he was excited about what ActionSA had achieved by being able to attract people from all walks of life, including in rural areas.
“... For democracy to work (you need to) convince people to vote for what they believe in, not just for status quo. My affiliation to my previous party was based on my upbringing and personal conviction.
“I recall at the press conference when I announced my resignation, I had to find myself as a conviction politician rather than a career politician and I have come to learn that conviction and career politicians are different.
“Careerism is about serving your own self rather than serving your conviction,” said Trollip.
He said he would not rely on his former party.
The announcement was made on Wednesday following speculation and reports that Trollip was the mystery high-profile politician who was joining Mashaba’s ActionSA. He follows former Midvaal mayor Bongani Baloyi, who joined the party two weeks ago.
Trollip, a former DA federal chairperson and a former Nelson Mandela Bay mayor, left the opposition party in 2019 shortly after then leader Mmusi Maimane resigned.
Mashaba and national chairperson Michael Beaumont travelled to Gqeberha to welcome Trollip to the party.
“Politics and democracy are about convincing people to change their minds. If they are not happy with what they’ve got, they can choose,” Trollip said.
ActionSA national spokesperson Lerato Ngobeni said Trollip was among a series of high-profile individuals who would be joining ActionSA this year following a successful 2021 local government election campaign.
“It also forms part of a critical component of ActionSA’s development, the deepening of our leadership pool,” she said.
Political Bureau