All eyes will be on former Johannesburg Mayor, Herman Mashaba as he will be launching his party on Saturday. During a virtual pre-launch press conference on Thursday, Mashaba reiterated that the main goal of his new party is to unseat the African National Congress (ANC).
Shortly after his departure from the Democratic Alliance (DA) last year, Mashaba established the People’s Dialogue, as a discussion platform with South Africans on the political vision they have for South Africa.
Mashaba formed the People’s Dialogue which served as a vehicle to gain support for the formation of his new political party. He said the party will not follow the trajectory of political parties formed post-1994.
“The party I will unveil on Saturday will be the hope that South Africans are looking for. We will put down real solutions to the problems in South Africa. We will avoid the political pettiness and point-scoring that has become part of the politics of our country. We will exist for the sole purpose of unseating the ANC and providing an alternative, better future for our country.”
While the party plans to contest the three major metros in Gauteng – Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni – Mashaba said they are open to contesting more metros.
“We will focus our resources where we can win in next year’s elections. While, ladies and gentlemen, we initially believed that this would be focused in Tshwane, Johannesburg, and Ekurhuleni, it is clear that more and more municipalities are becoming winnable and can no longer be ignored.”
In the video below, Mashaba says the new party will be a game-changer:
Leadership of the party
While announcing current leaders, Mashaba said the leadership will be nominated by the party structures.
“I will serve as the party’s president and appointed Michael Beaumont as the National Chairperson of the party. I’m also pleased to announce that Lerato Ngobeni, another newcomer to politics will bring her vast experience and skills to the role of National Spokesperson. Funzi Ngobeni, Andre Coetzee and Paul Boughey will form part of our leadership team as strategic individuals who have been with us since the early days of the People’s Dialogue.”
Former ANC MP, Dr. Makhosi Khoza was announced as the latest prominent political figure to join the party and its leadership.
“Ladies and gentlemen, they will be joined by Makhosi Khoza, Vytjie Mentor, Lt.Gen De Lange David Tembe and Vivian Low. This leadership team will form the nucleus of our party going forward. It is a strong team that brings a huge amount of experience. Most importantly, they are great South Africans who are committed to the service to the people of this country.”
The virtual launch will start from 10 in the morning on all platforms of the People’s Dialogue.
Herman Mashaba speaks to SABC’s Chriselda Lewis on his political party launch:
