Rise Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi has announced that the IEC informed them two weeks ago that their application to register as a political party has been approved.
“The way is now open for RISE Mzansi to contest the national elections in every province in 2024,” Zibi said.
He addressed the media on Wednesday on the state of readiness ahead of their policy convention which will happen next week. He confirmed all systems go for the “People’s Convention”.
During the briefing, he outlined some of the six themes aimed at addressing some of the socio-economic crises facing the country.
He stated that about 8,000 delegates who will be attending their conference will form part of their discussion about how they will tackle challenges in communities.
Some of the themes to be discussed include family, community, governance, economic recovery, justice, inclusivity, nation-building and climate change.
“Each delegate will have an opportunity to participate in discussion about each of the themes, unlike traditional political parties where people get allocated to commissions that are too technical to make them worthwhile,” he said.
Reflecting on family theme, he said talks will be about hunger, mental health, rape by partners, neighbours, or acquaintances; problems mothers encounter at the maintenance court, the struggles of living in communities without child or ECD facilities for single mothers, and not being able to look for work.
Launched in April, Zibi said his party will free the country from the clutches of a political establishment that no longer has any solutions or plans for the country and its 60-million people.
“We said we would do things differently, and we have been. The People’s Convention taking place next week will give you a real experience of how substantively different our politics is, yet relatable and meaningful,” he said.
He mentioned that the People’s Convention would be an opportunity for South Africans to specify what they want from the party.
“This event will be full of energy, encapsulating both serious discussions and performance art as a form of political expression.
“It will be a real festival of solutions, not the yawn fests of long tables, long boring speeches and tired, sleeping delegates at midnight listening to tepid contributions from politicians who think they know much, but do not,” he said.
Politics
