Almost a year after its formation, the MK Party has finally put together a constitution.
The party's first legal document was adopted at a national high command meeting on September 26.
Led by former president Jacob Zuma, the MK Party has often come under fire for its lack of structure and criticised for being controlled from Nkandla with all decisions made subject to the feelings of those close to Zuma's homestead.
However, it appears the party is on a serious quest to establish a political identity and hopes to achieve a character of its own with the adoption of the constitution.
The constitution was officially launched on Friday in Johannesburg with Zuma and the party's top officials present. It was unveiled by former EFF deputy president and now MK national organiser Floyd Shivambu.
The preamble details the country's political history, dating back to colonial and apartheid oppression and seeks to assert the MK Party as a vehicle to address the racial and economic polarisation resulting from the troubled past.
“The announcement statement made by Zuma on December 16 2023 signalled our refusal to surrender in the struggle against neocolonialism and apartheid. South Africa is currently still under neocolonial and apartheid rule, which excludes the black majority and indigenous people from any meaningful economic participation and benefit.
“South Africa is still defined by strong and continued presence of economic, social, spatial, cultural and knowledge/ideological apartheid and oppression. The statement by Zuma represents a clarion call that the struggle continues and the current phase of the struggle requires unity in action of all the oppressed masses of our people,” reads the preamble.
To address these injustices, the MK Party has vowed to “unite the progressive forces which represent the oppressed”.
The party says it drew inspiration from the 1961 generation of the ANC's armed wing uMkhonto we Sizwe. It said the National Party government had been replaced by “the same racist and exploitive forces and their black collaborators” and there was no difference between present day South Africa and 1961.
“The only major difference is that the bullet must be replaced by the ballot as our primary weapon. The MK Party is a symbol of our refusal to be subdivided and suppressed into small unviable formations that carry no capacity to fight for true and total freedom.”
The party's constitution preamble mandates that different formations must never be regarded as ends in themselves but rather should develop the ability to differentiate between tactics and strategy.
Like the ANC from which it broke away, the MK Party has declared its official colours as green, black and gold.
The constitution explains that the green represents the land that must be reclaimed from colonial settlers, while black represents the commitment to the liberation of all black and indigenous people and gold is said to stand for the reclaiming of all natural resources and other economic assets.
The party's aims and objectives include uniting all anti-colonial, anti-imperialist and anti-racist progressive forces in the country to fight “for the total political, economic, social, spatial, cultural and knowledge/ideological freedom and emancipation”.
It also seeks to “democratically and decisively take over political power in a manner that will represent the aspirations and interests of our people”.
The party's principles and values include ubuntu, unity in action, pan-Africanism, honesty and respect, democratic centralism, organic forms of public representation and class consciousness.
The party has opened membership to eligible voters from the age of 16. The party also has a clause stating that all new members will be placed on 24-month probation — meaning that their membership may summarily be cancelled collectively by national officials at any point during probation.
The party aims to launch more than 23,000 branches across the country in all voting districts, alongside regional provincial detachments which will report to national officials.
The party will also establish a women's league, alongside its youth league and student movement.
TimesLIVE
MK Party unveils its constitution
Former president Jacob Zuma's MK Party has often come under fire for its lack of structure
Image: Alet Pretorius
Almost a year after its formation, the MK Party has finally put together a constitution.
The party's first legal document was adopted at a national high command meeting on September 26.
Led by former president Jacob Zuma, the MK Party has often come under fire for its lack of structure and criticised for being controlled from Nkandla with all decisions made subject to the feelings of those close to Zuma's homestead.
However, it appears the party is on a serious quest to establish a political identity and hopes to achieve a character of its own with the adoption of the constitution.
The constitution was officially launched on Friday in Johannesburg with Zuma and the party's top officials present. It was unveiled by former EFF deputy president and now MK national organiser Floyd Shivambu.
The preamble details the country's political history, dating back to colonial and apartheid oppression and seeks to assert the MK Party as a vehicle to address the racial and economic polarisation resulting from the troubled past.
“The announcement statement made by Zuma on December 16 2023 signalled our refusal to surrender in the struggle against neocolonialism and apartheid. South Africa is currently still under neocolonial and apartheid rule, which excludes the black majority and indigenous people from any meaningful economic participation and benefit.
“South Africa is still defined by strong and continued presence of economic, social, spatial, cultural and knowledge/ideological apartheid and oppression. The statement by Zuma represents a clarion call that the struggle continues and the current phase of the struggle requires unity in action of all the oppressed masses of our people,” reads the preamble.
To address these injustices, the MK Party has vowed to “unite the progressive forces which represent the oppressed”.
The party says it drew inspiration from the 1961 generation of the ANC's armed wing uMkhonto we Sizwe. It said the National Party government had been replaced by “the same racist and exploitive forces and their black collaborators” and there was no difference between present day South Africa and 1961.
“The only major difference is that the bullet must be replaced by the ballot as our primary weapon. The MK Party is a symbol of our refusal to be subdivided and suppressed into small unviable formations that carry no capacity to fight for true and total freedom.”
The party's constitution preamble mandates that different formations must never be regarded as ends in themselves but rather should develop the ability to differentiate between tactics and strategy.
Like the ANC from which it broke away, the MK Party has declared its official colours as green, black and gold.
The constitution explains that the green represents the land that must be reclaimed from colonial settlers, while black represents the commitment to the liberation of all black and indigenous people and gold is said to stand for the reclaiming of all natural resources and other economic assets.
The party's aims and objectives include uniting all anti-colonial, anti-imperialist and anti-racist progressive forces in the country to fight “for the total political, economic, social, spatial, cultural and knowledge/ideological freedom and emancipation”.
It also seeks to “democratically and decisively take over political power in a manner that will represent the aspirations and interests of our people”.
The party's principles and values include ubuntu, unity in action, pan-Africanism, honesty and respect, democratic centralism, organic forms of public representation and class consciousness.
The party has opened membership to eligible voters from the age of 16. The party also has a clause stating that all new members will be placed on 24-month probation — meaning that their membership may summarily be cancelled collectively by national officials at any point during probation.
The party aims to launch more than 23,000 branches across the country in all voting districts, alongside regional provincial detachments which will report to national officials.
The party will also establish a women's league, alongside its youth league and student movement.
TimesLIVE
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