One SA leader Mmusi Maimane, who will run for presidency during the 2024 general elections, will unveil his new political platform on Heritage Day.
Maimane last contested for presidency in 2019 in his capacity as the leader of the DA, which he dumped a few months after the elections.
The new party
In conversation with Sunday World this week, Maimane, who has always been vocal about his vision to “build one South Africa for all”, said he would launch the party in Naledi, Soweto, where he will announce the name of the party and its policies.
Speaking about the issues facing ordinary South Africans, Maimane said he wants to rebuild the country and restore its capacity to enforce effective service delivery, thereby eradicating the decaying regime of the governing ANC.
“As we have seen in many metros where the ANC has lost power, the damage is enormous. The first thing to do is rebuild the capacity of the state to effectively implement good policies and deliver for the people. It means hiring the best candidates for each job, on merit and track record,” said Maimane.
In his effort to make South Africa an inclusive country for all, he said his leadership under the new political party is set to restore the country’s democratic capabilities by involving the public in its direct elections.
“In building a thriving South Africa, [the party] will focus its policy suite on three areas: employment, education, and safety and security. We will be joined by our partners and affiliates including section 15A community organisations, business, labour, civil society, and religious formations in implementing this mandate.”
“Because our model is based on voters directly electing our candidates, we break down the wall between the people and their representatives in government.
“In doing so, we will bring together 100 candidates from diverse constituencies to contest in the 2024 elections on their merit. They must be leaders in their communities and sectors, and those communities and sectors must elect them directly.”
2024 elections prospect of success
Maimane is confident that the 2024 general elections will reap good results for South Africans, saying he has faith in independent candidates.
“2024 is going to be an explosive election. While the ANC parliament is trying to delay the passing of electoral reform, they have met a community of people willing to fight for a better way of voting.
“The ANC is going to go below 50% and the drop is going to be significant. There will be many independents making it to parliament for the first time, and they are going to shake up the room. They will be a large voting block,” he said.
Maimane’s exit from the DA
Maimane, who left the DA in 2019 after the party lost to the ANC in the general elections, previously shared with Sunday World that the opposition party is no longer serving his interests and noted that its mandate is not aligning with his.
“When I left the DA, I said that it was no longer a vehicle I believed would deliver One South Africa for all. The developments in the months preceding my departure indicated that there was a faction that was interested in going in a right-wing, republican party direction. In essence, they would be abandoning the centre and betting on minority fears.
“This was not a political strategy in line with my values and the contribution I want to make in my lifetime. I am working to tear down the walls that divide and separate us, to create a South Africa where diversity is cultivated, celebrated, and consolidated.”
Life after the DA
Maimane, who has found himself a new home in his movement and now the new party, also disclosed to Sunday World that the DA is not a comfortable place for him as a black man.
He said the subject of race and the uncomfortable sub-topics that accompany it was a no-go area, noting that there were many people who “couldn’t accept being led by a black man with his own vision”.
“It was a place full of contradictions and unconscious biases. While many appreciated the need to go full throttle and contest elections as a party with a goal to beat the ANC and govern the country, there were some who failed to appreciate that we would have to address painful and uncomfortable topics of race and how it still effects social and economic inequality.
“There were those who would not relent, and many who couldn’t accept being led by a black man who had his own vision.”
Maimane added: “My life is exciting because I am embarking on one of the most important projects in our democratic history. I am working with people who are passionate about a unified and diverse South Africa, and who are fighting for electoral reform and education reform.
“My life’s work is to make a positive contribution to this nation so that all the children of this country can have a prosperous and peaceful future.”
Press statement #ReadyToBuild pic.twitter.com/U4dKa0YjsY
— Mmusi Maimane (@MmusiMaimane) September 21, 2022
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