By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
ActionSA President Herman Mashaba officially unveiled Ayanda Allie on Friday, July 31, 2026, as the party’s Election Campaign Ambassador in Gauteng.
Mashaba made the announcement at the Radisson Blue in Sandton, Johannesburg.
Her move follows her recent expulsion from Build One South Africa (BOSA) on July 23, 2026, where she previously served as the sole Gauteng Member of the Provincial Legislature. Her BOSA membership was terminated following an internal disciplinary process regarding the payment of party levies.
Mashaba said he had admired her from a distance for a long time.
“I’ve watched you in the legislature. Your former party unfortunately only delivered you but I can tell you when someone boxes above their weight, that’s exactly what you did.
“When the opportunity presented itself for you to join our party, I can tell you I was overwhelmed. When I shared the news with my colleagues, they asked: ‘Herman, is this one of your jokes?’ and I said it isn’t.”
In her acceptance speech, Allie said the past few weeks had been eventful, adding that she did not want to dwell on the past.
However, she said she wanted to thank Bosa for the opportunity and experience it had given her to serve.
“I don’t want that to be left unsaid and I do not want to minimise their contribution. If I was in church, I was going to say this is the day the Lord has made. It is a new season, a new day, a new chapter and it matters not how I found myself in this room today.
What matters is that I’m here completely, totally and wholeheartedly sold out to the mission of ActionSA, not only for South Africa but also for Gauteng.”
She also pointed to ActionSA’s approach to developing women leaders, referring to figures such as Dereleen James and Dr Nasiphi Moya as examples of women who had been supported within the organisation.
ActionSA’s mayoral candidates in the province’s metros are Mashaba in the City of Johannesburg, and Moya, who took over the mayoral chains in Tshwane from the Democratic Alliance’s Cilliers Brink through Tshwane through a coalition agreement with the African National Congress, Economic Freedom Fighters, and other smaller parties.
In Ekurhuleni, the green machine has fielded controversial anti-drugs media personality Xolani Khumalo.
Other mayoral candidates are Reverend Caleb Dhlamini in the Sedibeng District Municipality, Vuyisile Mcunana in Rand West, and Gibsy Diale in Mogale City.
Mashaba has issued a clear mandate to mobilise every community, register every eligible voter, and campaign to win.
“We are not contesting elections to participate; we are contesting to govern. The time must come when no government can be formed without ActionSA at the table.”