ActionSA has announced new merger agreements with two political parties, marking the latest expansion of its Green Umbrella Project as the party positions itself for growth ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
Speaking in Johannesburg on Monday, ActionSA president Herman Mashaba said the party’s strategy of uniting community-rooted political movements was gaining momentum and delivering measurable growth across both rural and urban areas. The announcement was made during the formal signing of merger agreements with the Azanian Independent Community Movement and the Creatives Congress Movement.
Mashaba reflected on ActionSA’s five-year journey since its launch in 2020, saying the party was founded on the principle of representing all South Africans, regardless of geography or background. He said this inclusive approach was now reflected in the party’s electoral performance and growing national footprint.
As evidence of this growth, Mashaba pointed to ActionSA’s first by-election victory in Ward 7 of the Ramotshere Moiloa Municipality in the North West in October last year, where the party unseated the ANC in what he described as a historic rural stronghold. In Johannesburg’s Ward 130, ActionSA nearly tripled its support to 22.66%, finishing second behind the ANC and outperforming both the MK Party and the EFF.
Mashaba said these gains demonstrated the effectiveness of consolidating smaller, locally embedded parties that may lack national reach but remain closely connected to community needs. He argued that decades of governance failures by established political parties had left many communities disillusioned and in need of credible alternatives.
Under the Green Umbrella Project, ActionSA has sought to bring together such parties under a single banner to offer a unified opposition voice. Mashaba said the project had already increased ActionSA’s number of public representatives from 91 to 141 nationwide.
Monday’s merger agreements will further boost that figure to nearly 150 public representatives, with the addition of seven councillors. The partnerships are also expected to strengthen ActionSA’s presence in the North West and introduce a new constituency of artists and creatives into the party’s structures.
Mashaba said the inclusion of the Creatives Congress Movement would allow ActionSA to better represent the interests of artists and cultural workers, champion creative industries, and ensure their voices are included in decision-making processes.
He also highlighted ActionSA’s role in local government, citing the work of Tshwane Executive Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya, who leads a coalition administration in the capital. Mashaba said improvements in governance in Tshwane demonstrated what ActionSA could deliver when given an opportunity to lead.
Mashaba thanked Azanian Independent Community Movement leader Tshepo Mashiane and Creatives Congress Movement leader Wiseman Dibakwe for joining the party, saying the new partnerships signalled growing unity ahead of the 2026 elections.
