Africa-Press – Lesotho. A new political party, Rise Mzansi, has been launched and its leaders have warned the 2024 national elections were a critical turning point for the country.
Speaking at its launch in Johannesburg on Wednesday, Rise Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi called for electoral, judicial, and government reform by eliminating old systems that have negatively affected the state of the country.
He said South Africans “have come to trust personalities to hold us together”. Zibi encouraged people from civil society, religious institutions, and businesses to work with political parties to trigger a long-lasting transformation that would transcend generations.
The launch took place at Constitutional Hill and was attended by several community activists. Zibi added the country needed a broad social and political movement that did not limit South Africans to one elected political party, resulting in millions losing hope due to corruption.
He stated the party’s values were justice, freedom, equality, solidarity, and integrity. Zibi said these values would focus on solving long-standing issues that have yet to be addressed and resolved.
He added Rise Mzansi’s urgent priorities were political reform to “return democracy to the people” and safety in communities, especially tackling the drug pandemic.
Economic development was another priority focus area for the party as well as to create jobs, zooming in on water and sanitation issues, and to root out corruption from the ground up.
Rise Mzansi’s national organiser, Makashule Gana, who is a former DA member, said the party had visited numerous communities nationwide in 2022 to engage with them and know what they sought from political leaders. Based on what was gathered, the most common comment was “there should be nothing about us without us”, Gana added.
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