ARU promises to “restore” powers of traditional leaders

The African Renaissance Unity party (ARU) says it will restore the powers of traditional and religious leaders.

The ARU signed an alliance agreement in Cape Town with another new party, the Alliance of Indigenous and True South Africans (AITSA) which pledged its support in the upcoming elections.

ARU says under its presidency, a monarch house will be established to run parallel to parliament.

Launched last year, the party says it’s confident of victory in the May 8th polls.

“We will establish a new house that will be called a monarch house, that will be a united kingdom house that will represent all our people in grassroots level because our kings, chiefs, indunas, they understand the needs of our people. So we will work with them and the parliament will be parallel to that monarch house. The traditional leadership will take decisions when it comes to any matters together with religious people,” says ARU president, Bryce Mthimkhulu.

Another party, AITSA, says it will throw its support behind ARU’s electoral aspirations with a view to promote the development of the Khoisan people and for a morally improved South Africa.

“One of the first things which we need them to address to implement is the UNDRIP 2007 resolutions as well as the human rights commissions resolutions on the Khoisan development and one of them are the scrapping of the coloured name for us and just rename it South Africans.

“The other things that we are looking are bring back military services for our youth after matric because that will create job opportunities for our youth in this country and also install discipline in an immoral South Africa,” says AITSA president, Nico Jano.

Supporters have welcomed the alliance. ARU has among others promised to create jobs, and double old age grants if elected.