Home PodcastInayet Wadee Rise Mzansi: Another political party added to the ballot paper

Rise Mzansi: Another political party added to the ballot paper

by Luqmaan Rawat
Rise Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi and other members in leadership at the launch of the new political party at Constitutional Hill in Braamfontein Photo Twitter/ @Rise_Mzansi

South Africa – South Africans voters will be spoiled for choice at next year’s polls with over 200 political parties to choose from. One of them will be Rise Mzansi. The new kid on the political block who officially launched as a political party last week.

Rise Mzansi came about after months of conversations between activists led by the Rivonia Circle and is headed by Songezo Zibi, former editor of Business Day. While its supporter base is low, it has bold ambitions: to reshape South African politics within a decade. The political party started after their leaders felt the current political parties had abandoned the idea of uniting South Africa, said Makashule Gana, Chief Organiser at Rise Mzansi.

“There was a lot of hope in 1994 that the democratic government would treat South Africans much better but it hasn’t been the case … There is also that project that we believe the major political parties in this country have completely abandoned and that’s uniting South Africans behind a common vision. Building a non-racial South Africa. An agenda to end inequality in South Africa.”

 

No money, no problem

Some of the country’s biggest political parties such as the DA, the ANC and the EFF charge a small annual fee for those who want to officially join their party. This isn’t the case for Rise Mzansi as they believe money should not be a determining factor for membership.

“We are not a membership collecting agency. To be a part of Rise Mzansi you just sign up. We’re not going to ask anyone to pay a cent to save our country. To be part of us you can sign up on our website. Talking to other South Africans to be part of Rise Mzansi is the biggest contribution one can make.”

The party hopes this approach will not only help to attract great leaders but also attract young people who in previous elections resorted to not voting. As was the case with the 2021 local government elections that saw an all-time low voter turnout. 

While money shouldn’t be a determining factor for membership, it does beg the question of how the party will be funded. In order to keep things running, the party will look towards ordinary South Africans to fund their campaign, said Gana. 

“The money for us to do what we do comes from South Africans … Anyone who believes that our country needs to be saved and rebuilt is more than welcome to donate. Us not asking people to pay a membership fee doesn’t mean that we do not ask people to donate. We are funded by South Africans.”

While the door is open to all South Africans, Gana has warned that Rise Mzansi will only accept those who are “capable and ethical”. Popularity will not help and those with a culture of unaccountability will not be accepted.

With over 200 political parties being established and independent candidates being allowed on the ballot paper, it speaks to how defragmented the country is and the lack of trust we have in the current political parties. While new political parties are continuously formed, many, if not all, offer no new insights and solutions, just the belief they can do better than their hundred or so counterparts. It seems everyone has this innate belief the only way to change the country is by running it. 

To hear more from Makashule Gana about Rise Mzansi, listen to the podcast here:

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