Hannah Omarjee | homarjee@radioislam.co.za
6 March 2023 | 17:00
2 min read

Photo Credit: Daily Dispatch

Several DA-led multi-party coalitions have collapsed over the past few weeks, with DA mayors being ousted in motions of no confidence. The DA has also been accused of placing itself superior to other parties as it suggested an opposition coalition unseat the ruling ANC in the 2024 national elections.

“Rise Mzansi” is one of the new political parties that will contest these elections. The national convener of “Rise Mzansi”, Songezo Zibi, the party has yet to be formally approached to be a part of such a coalition.

Zibi, in conversation with Radio Islam International, said “Rise Mzansi” believes it is very likely that elections will lead to a coalition government next year, adding that there is no single collection of political parties with the credibility or ability to turn South Africa around. Zibi believes this should be used to unite all South Africans who care about the country and actively participate in political spaces.

According to Zibi, in the 2021 elections, there were 41 million eligible voters. However, 28 million did not cast a ballot for the ANC, the DA, or any other candidate. That means that 30% of eligible voters chose one of the political parties. It is crucial to seek the opinions of the remaining 70%, typically represented by civil society organisations, who fight daily for service delivery and human rights. He believes civil society organisations should have a say when deciding South Africa’s political, economic, and social future.

Zibi said it is effortless to call for the replacement of the ANC, but the alternative, multi-party coalitions, isn’t foolproof.

According to Zibi,” When we think about how we construct South Africa going forward, we can’t narrow it to just “The ANC is bad”, and anything that replaces the ANC is good. It can’t work like that.” Looking at the cities of Tshwane, Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni, one can see what happens when the principal objective is the removal of the ANC.”

Zibi further said, in this instance, “You get a sea of opportunists, with no principles, with no value systems, who get into a coalition arrangement, just so they can get into a place of power, and we can’t make that mistake again.”

Many coalition governments across South Africa have failed, and Zibi believes one of the main reasons for this is that there are no discussions on the type of people that should be allowed in positions of power.

“That is why you end up with ex-convicts, fraudsters, and ex-bank robbers running municipalities.”

Rise Mzansi is setting out a program that addresses and sets a framework to determine how all South Africans work together, allowing them to turn away specific candidates failing to meet the principles of the program.

Listen to the full interview with Ml Junaid Kharsany on Sabahul Muslim here.