Former DA member Bongani Baloyi has joined ActionSA after weeks of speculation. Baloyi resigned from the DA in December and said he was leaving on his own terms. 

There was much speculation regarding his next move after what could be considered a good run as the mayor of the Midvaal Local Municipality in Gauteng. The municipality was ranked as one of the best performing municipalities in the country.

Baloyi was largely credited for its rise when he was elected mayor in 2013 at the age of 26. He was one of the youngest elected mayors in the country when he was appointed.

Announcing Baloyi’s move to ActionSA, national chairperson Michael Beaumont used Baloyi’s track record as mayor to describe his career move. 

Baloyi said joining ActionSA did not mean that he was having a bitter spat with his former political home. 

“My joining ActionSA is not out of anger, but actually because of hope that lies ahead of me. I believe this is a realignment of our politics. We have one enemy, and that is the African National Congress,” he said.

He added that he was proud of his record as a DA member and his work at the Midvaal municipality.

He added:Me joining ActionSA means I am committed to working toward a better South Africa under the ActionSA brand.

Baloyi joins several former DA members who chose ActionSA as a political alternative. The party’s leader, Herman Mashaba, as well as John Moodey and Beaumont are former DA members. 

Mashaba spoke boastfully of Baloyi at a presser on Monday, and said his 10-year record in politics would help boost the party. 

He will join ActionSA’s senate.