Mauibuye Afrika is expected to launch a political party that will add to the country's growing list of political parties.
Former uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party secretary-general, Floyd Shivambu, is expected to meet Zulu monarch King Misuzulu Ka Zwelithini on Monday to consult him about the idea of starting a new political party.
Shivambu and other leaders of the Mayibuye Afrika movement are in KwaZulu-Natal this weekend as part of consultations for the formation of a new party that Shivambu will lead.
He said he will also report to the King what he has been told by South Africans in the various consultations that he had all over the country.
“Tomorrow we will go speak to the King to say this is what we have heard from the people of KwaZulu-Natal. When he sees the movement existing in the province, he should be in full knowledge of what the people of KwaZulu-Natal have said,” he said.
A mandate from South Africans
Shivambu told delegates at the consultation gathering in Durban that the new political party, which will come out of the consultation processes, should be able to capture the confidence of South Africans and win elections.
“Thus far, the majority of the people who have spoken to us say we should constitute an alternate political movement.
“A political movement is different from a political party. They say we should respond to all the crises and the lack of activism in all sectors of society. They say we should constitute a movement that will have unions in it. It must have civil society organisations within it …But it must also have a political party that must contest elections from 2026 onwards and contest elections not just for the sake of it, but contest elections with the aim of winning.”
Does South Africa need another political party?
Shivambu said the outcomes of the 2024 general elections show that the current existing political parties have not managed to capture the hearts of the majority of South Africans.
“We have observed that all the political formations and parties that exist in South Africa do not enjoy the support and the confidence of the majority of South Africans that is demonstrated by the simple fact that out of the 42 million adult people in South Africa above the age of 18, less than 18 million people participate in elections.
“So, the majority of adults in South Africa who are eligible to vote have no confidence in any of the existing political parties,” he said.
What’s next for Mayibuye Afrika?
Meanwhile, Shivambu said KZN is the last province that his movement is doing consultations with.
He said the organisation will now formalise the structure of the movement and come up with a constitution and other important documents.
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