Former DA MPL Mbali Ntuli launches non-profit organisation for change-makers

Former DA MPL Mbali Ntuli has launched a non-profit organisation called Ground Work Collective (GWC) to “show patriotic South Africans how they can take their country back”.

When Ntuli resigned from public office a year ago, she stated she would not be joining or starting a political party. She said GWC was different.

“As a public representative, I took seriously the job South Africans entrusted me to do. When I left active politics a year ago, I said I would go back to communities and work on the ground,” Ntuli said.

The former KwaZulu-Natal provincial legislature member said GWC was the result of work she had been doing with others and was proud to share how it would serve South Africa.

“This is not merely a reaction to the current state of our politics. This is a personal mission. Among the many things I was tired of when I left politics, the main one was the political point-scoring across the board which daily seemed to erode our country of hope for real change.”

Ntuli said this was her way of trying to rekindle that hope and she was inviting South Africans to join her on the journey.

The former MPL shared how during her political career five things stood out to her, the first being how most citizens are patriotic and seek to make it work, but the current political landscape not only depresses them but turns them away.

Second, she said, despite many South Africans wanting to make the country work, they had little idea about how it worked, resulting in them not knowing how to make the country and politicians work for them.

“Third, in 2014, I became the MP responsible for the rural KZN constituency of uMkhanyakude, a place so far away from anything and everyone that leaders have forgotten it. Beyond the near total collapse of basic service delivery in this area, it was clear people were starving.

“Being 'food insecure' is a euphemism. It should be seen for what it is — it is a moral and policy scandal. Even though we have become desensitised to the horror of seeing hungry adults nowadays, too many young children suffer from acute malnutrition.”

The fourth thing that stood out during her political stint was that the median age in South Africa is 27 years, yet millions of people will never hold a stable job, nor earn a steady income from the age of 18 until they can collect a pension grant at 65.

“Worse still, 85% of this same age group of job seekers are faced with the impossible choice of using what little money they have between buying food or using it to seek jobs.”

The fifth aspect, Ntuli said, was that voters were turning away because they knew the system was not for them.

“There is a correlation between high rates of voter participation, accountability, representation and turnout. Voters nowadays do not simply not turn out. They increasingly do not care. They know they are on their own.

“When GWC was formed, we commissioned extensive research to understand the context of these problems. We had to understand before we could solve.

“We also did not want to become the very problem we have rallied against: becoming an out-of-touch, self-satisfied clique who focus too much on each other’s voices rather than the voices of the people we aim to serve,” she said.

With the assistance of a reputable research partner, they consulted the youth, heads of households and experts across the country. They also listened to thousands of stakeholders through surveys and face-to-face interviews to get people’s views on democracy, civic participation, entrepreneurship and food production.

“We heard people’s concerns about challenges they face, particularly the youth. We have worked hard to ensure GWC, in partnership with business, civil society and academia, can best address these challenges — namely food production, skills development and entrepreneurship, and democracy and civic participation — and how GWC could bring change.”

Leading up to the 2024 national elections, Ntuli said the organisation would also equip and empower citizens to participate in democratic processes.

“We aim to increase number of people registered to vote, enhance awareness and understanding of civic rights, processes and responsibilities through civic education training sessions and enable increased availability of accessible engagement platforms at community levels.”

GWC would show citizens how they can empower themselves in their own lives, she added.

“Aside from calling their councillor when there is no electricity or water, do they know how to get answers from them or their political party outside election time? Are they aware they can create UIPs [urban improvement precincts] for their neighbourhoods?

“South Africans do not have to wait for political parties. They can effect change themselves and force political parties to be scared of them and their collective power.

“The days of political party impunity will only end once we all know how the system really works. You cannot change something you do not understand.”

Ntuli said they had partnered with philanthropists, influencers, media personalities and the country’s biggest event companies to achieve this end.

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