Former Build One South Africa (BOSA) Gauteng MPL Ayanda Allie has joined ActionSA, declaring the party her ‘last home’ after a fallout with her former party.
She has been immediately appointed to spearhead the organisation’s campaign efforts across Gauteng ahead of the local government elections.
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba unveiled Allie during a media briefing on Friday, describing her as one of the country’s brightest young political leaders and announcing that she would serve as the party’s Gauteng campaign ambassador across all municipalities.
Mashaba said he had long admired Allie’s work as both a journalist and legislator, particularly her performance as BOSA’s lone representative in the Gauteng legislature.
“When you say someone boxes beyond their weight, that’s exactly what you did,” Mashaba said.
He revealed that discussions with Allie had been underway for several weeks and said ActionSA’s Gauteng leadership unanimously supported bringing her into the party.
Mashaba said Allie’s legislative experience and communication skills would play a central role in the party’s local government election campaign.
“I want to come back. I have unfinished business,” Mashaba said of his Johannesburg mayoral bid.
“So you’ve got to help me get enough votes so that I can govern Johannesburg after 4 November.”
Taking to the podium, Allie said she was leaving the past behind and embracing what she described as a new chapter in her political career.
“I don’t want to dwell on the past, and I don’t want to resuscitate the events preceding today,” she said.
While thanking BOSA for the opportunity to serve as a Member of the Provincial Legislature, Allie made it clear her focus had shifted entirely to ActionSA.
“This is a new season. It is a new day. It is a new chapter.”
“What matters is that I’m here in full force, completely, totally and wholeheartedly sold out to the mission of ActionSA.”
She added: “This is the last home.”
Allie said many people had advised her to leave politics altogether following her departure from BOSA and pursue a career in either the corporate sector or government.
She rejected that advice, saying South Africa needed committed public representatives willing to endure the pressures of political life.
“We are not the faint-hearted,” she said.
“You have to be thick-skinned. You have to be tough.”
Explaining why she chose ActionSA, Allie said she had long felt aligned with the party’s values despite serving in a different organisation.
She recalled working closely with ActionSA members inside the Gauteng legislature and said she had been impressed by their discipline, work ethic and commitment to community issues.
“I’ve always felt I was an extension of ActionSA in the legislature,” she said.
She also cited the party’s support for women leaders as a deciding factor, saying she had watched how senior female leaders within ActionSA such as Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya, had been nurtured into prominent leadership positions.
Most importantly, she said, ActionSA recognised where her strengths lay.
“I knew this was a place where I was seen,” Allie said.
She said party leaders had identified community activism and issue-driven campaigning as the areas where she could make the greatest contribution, convincing her she had found the right political home.
Mashaba said Allie would now work across Gauteng to strengthen ActionSA’s local government election campaign ahead of the November polls.
Her appointment comes a week after BOSA terminated her membership following an internal disciplinary process that had been under consideration for more than a year.
BOSA said repeated attempts to resolve the dispute through engagement and mediation had failed, prompting its board to expel Allie after she declined to appeal the decision.
However, following her expulsion, Allie alleged that the dispute stemmed from disagreements over party levies and constituency funding.
She claimed she had withheld party levies after legislative funds intended for constituency work were not made available, instead using the money to support community initiatives and fulfil her responsibilities as a public representative.
She also alleged that although an independent disciplinary chairperson found her conduct did not warrant dismissal, the BOSA board overruled that recommendation and expelled her.