ActionSA's Plan to Rejuvenate Inner Cities Across South Africa

Today, we unveiled our plan to ignite South Africa’s economic growth and address the country’s housing crisis by reclaiming hijacked and abandoned buildings and factories across the country. The plan builds on the work that President Herman Mashaba did as the City of Johannesburg Mayor where, during his tenure as Mayor, the Council approved the release of 154 properties and 37 abandoned factories to the private sector for mixed-use development, including affordable accommodation and student housing.
When he launched the Inner-City Revitalisation Project in 2017, he had the vision of turning the city into a construction site. Ntate Mashaba states that had the 191 sites been fully developed, it would have resulted in an estimated R32 billion in new investment in the city, created an estimated 21,000 construction jobs, and approximately 14,500 affordable housing opportunities.
Unfortunately, after his resignation as Executive Mayor the project stalled under successive administrations. But today he wants to commit that under an ActionSA government, we will roll out this programme across the country, igniting an unprecedented level of economic growth while providing affordable accommodation opportunities at a scale never seen before in our country.
Ntate Mashaba makes this commitment today speaking at the Focus 1 Student Accommodation in the Johannesburg inner city - a building which he helped reclaim from hijackers as City of Johannesburg Mayor.
The importance of this project must be understood against the economic and housing crises facing South Africans. In a country where economic growth is at a dismal 0.6% and unemployment remains stagnant above 40%, creating real job opportunities is critical to creating an inclusive and prosperous society. Reclaiming hijacked and abandoned buildings and handing them to the private sector would enable this, thereby improving the lives of our people.
Moreover, thirty years after democracy, the ruling party’s RDP housing programme has failed to address the growing housing backlog in the country. It is estimated that the housing backlog in the City of Johannesburg currently stands at 500,000. Against this backdrop the city is only constructing approximately 2,000 RDP houses a year. This model has failed South Africans and further exasperated Apartheid Spatial Planning.
ActionSA’s plan will start to address this backlog by developing higher density housing opportunities in well-located areas close to economic opportunities, thereby undoing the legacy of Apartheid Spatial Planning. Citizens must be able to live, work and play in safe and inclusive communities.
Addressing the scourge of hijacked buildings is central to this approach. During my time as Mayor, we identified 643 hijacked and adopted a comprehensive, multi-pronged approach to rehabilitating them. As a party which values social justice and economic prosperity, an ActionSA government would identify all buildings in South Africa’s cities that have been abandoned or hijacked by criminal organisations and will implement a national strategy to rehabilitate them. Where necessary, ActionSA would expropriate hijacked and abandoned buildings using the existing legislative framework. We believe expropriation, even without compensation, is entirely possible within Section 25 of the South African Constitution.
The Focus 1 building is a testament to what is possible when you combine political will with the power of the private sector. ActionSA believes it is possible to give South Africans a better life with housing opportunities closer to where jobs and tertiary opportunities are located. The ruling party has, however, proven unwilling to address the issue, and South Africans therefore need to take action at the ballot box on 29 May 2024 to remove the ruling party.

[@Mbali5726]

Action SA has my vote 💯💯💯

[@arjuna_aims]

Mashaba for State President!

[@simphiwejantjies2123]

Mr Mashaba is pragmatic and is not a politician...We've seen what politician (greedy, corrupt, uncaring, unpatriotic....) have done to our Country...We now need honorable men and women to rescue from this mess...ActionSA you have my vote

[@revelationpowerhour9149]

I am Proud of Herman Mashaba from ECC. ❤

[@mbusosiera1648]

This is amazing, please South Africans unite and work with ActionSA and Herman Mashaba, these Ethiopian investors made the money in South Africa and invested it in the City!
Let's do it every province has hijacked buildings!
OnlyActionWillFixSA

[@ElectrostatiCrow]

I want a clean and safe South Africa.

[@phumlanemkhize9096]

South Africans let’s get behind this guy, and give South Africa a fighting chance, we were never rehabilitated after apertheid regime, ActionSA is answer for me

[@phumzilendamase7535]

What more do South Africans want if this can be done even before we can go for polls. South Africa is already being fixed. Give more mandate and "ActionSA"

[@dougharris4853]

Go action sa you have my vote

[@phumlanemkhize9096]

Looking at Herman Mashaba comprehension of this plans, analysis process tick the box, why would someone say Mashaba cannot speak in parliament, only someone who is scared 😅

[@buyaza8918]

Guys let's make this video trend before elections 🙏🏽

[@kekubu3050]

What is sad is that potential poor voters dont even know what Action SA can do for them

[@buyaza8918]

@@kekubu3050 if you know 1 poor SAn send them this video, they'll probably send to some of their friends and the chain will grow

[@mbusosiera1648]

ActionSA needs a very strategic media team, we don't want to mention other parties, but our team can learn from them when it comes to exploiting WMC social media platforms!

[@Ntombelar4sure-db2yl]

I know that Building and I remember people jumping from the windows when it was burning and then man who was sitting on the window in the third floor of which jumping was going to be his end and fire was all over his place and walls was also catching the heat people screen please don't jump the fire engine is on it's way were can hear the siren the man waits in a very difficult situations and he was safety rescued by firefighters so thank to the business man who change that place to be a safe place it is today I'm crying for the abadoned building especially in Johannesburg there is a former Eskom building in Braamfontein very beautiful building selidlala amaPhara, the blue building( for Southern Sun Hotel)coner Von Weillegh and Jeppe , Mable Towers they don't deserve to be what they today ANC government failed to protect our inner cities why I saying that it's because there is old city which is not under ANC but is doing well and it still attract investment it still clean there for I can say ANC allow people to hijack our cities look at Hillbrow which they say it used to host top US artist the likes of Manhattans and others how it is today 😢 Action SA I believe in you.

[@KamogeloMokatse]

We need leaders like this in sa🎉❤

[@KamogeloMokatse]

Wow i am impressed👏👏atleast someone is putting us south africans first and these ithopians must invest more not take take take ,action Sa for a leading partly✊

[@hirohemrajh7763]

RUclips admin for ASA must make some shorts of this

[@hirohemrajh7763]

💚

[@thabomike5010]

What do you mean 'awarded privact sector with buidlings ' ? I hope you mean sold or something, but not just given 😮😮.

[@MKL_D]

😂😂 he means sold.

[@gerritvanloggerenberg8478]

Gauteng premier will belong to action sa

[@thabomike5010]

You lost me to at "expropriate with compensation" Land redistrubution is important to a country that needs a serious wealth redistribution.

[@realnews8075]

Puting that foreigner to speak just made this party lose vote some more.