As Rise Mzansi marks a year since its formation, the party is claiming credit for breaking the cycle of political disengagement, especially among the youth, and fostering active participatory politics for a better South Africa.
Speaking in Durban on Thursday, Rise Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi said one of the most challenging aspects of persuading South Africans to play an active role in democracy has been gaining people’s trust.
“People are tired of politicians, and they are cynical — people have given up on democracy. As a result, earning people’s trust takes time, but being where we are today with the number of people and the presence we have in South Africa, we think it is a massive achievement,” he said.
“A lot of us are doing this for the first time. It has been hard because to start from scratch we make a lot of mistakes. But we forgive ourselves and we forgive each other and we keep it moving. We are very happy and we are willing to do the hard work,” he added.
The party’s KwaZulu-Natal premier candidate Nonkululeko Hlongwane-Mhlongo presented Rise Mzansi's plan for a “safer, prosperous, equal and united KwaZulu-Natal” on the sidelines of the gathering. She also reflected on the past year since the formation of Rise Mzansi.
“Part of my responsibility as the only female premier candidate in KZN is to show other women and young people that it's possible, that as much as we have known politics to be contaminated that is not what politics should be, and as much as people have disengaged from democracy, this is what democracy should be,” she said.
Zibi said his party has been deliberately created to grow into a compelling political alternative.
“At the beginning of this election we started off saying 2024 is our 1994. Over 50% of the voters’ roll are people born after 1990 — the number may be higher — which means they did not vote in 1994.
“South Africa is in a terrible state — it will be up to a new and younger generation to set things right and setting things right happens through the ballot. From the beginning we recognised that this generation of people is going to be one that drives change. We are committed to the concept of people's power deepening democracy,” he explained.
Anyone who has been involved in corruption, or who is in trouble for corruption, is a no for us. We can't get into an arrangement with tainted people
— Songezo Zibi, Rise Mzansi leader
Rise Mzansi goes into its first election, according to its leader, as a bottom-up political movement that engages communities under trees, on street pavements and in community halls.
This approach, the party believes, sets it apart from other parties whose leaders prefer delivering speeches from podiums. It argues this approach gives them a unique ability to build meaningful relations focused on solutions.
But their post-election goals are modest, as Zibi explains.
“Everyone tends to think that if you campaign you want to be in the executive. Of course that is very important and that is how you effect change, but I want to say the work of parliament and legislatures is really important, the work of oversight has to be done.”
While Zibi emphasised the party will not be talking coalitions pre-elections because “we have no mandate — that mandate is earned on May 29.
“With that mandate you can then decide what you are going to do.”
He described the principles that will guide the party's direction as it relates to coalitions after the election.
“In the event that we get into coalition negotiations after the elections there are some important principles. No protection of people who are corrupt or facilitating corruption is part of the deal — we need accountability in South Africa.
“Anyone who has been involved in corruption, or who is in trouble for corruption, is a no for us. We can't get into an arrangement with tainted people.”
He also will not be part of a coalition that will not stick to a deal for five years, saying “this business of in and out of coalitions is a no”.
Zibi said coalitions will not be an opportunistic route to get into the executive for his party.
“You can't have people overseeing themselves — people get into coalitions and all the oversight roles are for the same people in executive positions. We want to demonstrate when our people get into the provincial legislature that we are not going to join a coalition just because somebody said you can be speaker.
“The cynicism is that we are in it for positions.We get this question of coalitions because society has been conditioned to believe politics is about positions.If we can make parliament powerful again we will have accountability — and that is where we come in,” he explained,
Ultimately, he said Rise Mzansi has sought to build a political culture where South Africans are able to hold leaders accountable without fear of intimidation and that is their commitment to voters — not the pursuit of executive office.
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