Agang South Africa’s leader, Mamphela Ramphele (66), says it will be “a formid-able opposition party” and will challenge the ruling ANC’s monolithic hold on power.
In an interview with the Mail & Guardian this week, Ramphele, former World Bank managing director-turned-opposition leader, said the party had already set up regional and provincial structures across South Africa in anticipation of the 2014 national polls.
Agang SA, which has offices in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, is due to launch as a fully-fledged political party on Saturday in Pretoria, after a four-and-half month consultative process.
Ramphele said that since her announcement in February this year about launching a party political platform, she had received a “deluge of volunteers” who wanted to join the party.
“We have identified the best of these volunteers for training so that when they go to areas to mobilise, they understand what Agang SA stands for,” she said.
“We’ve been travelling the country in the past four and half months listening to what South Africans are saying about their experience of 19 years of democracy.
“It is very rare in South Africa that someone like me goes to Uitkyk village in Limpopo or Mdantsane township [in East London] in the Eastern Cape, not to register
people to vote, but to listen to them and hear their fears and concerns.
“We want Agang SA to be known for establishing a political culture that mirrors the foundational values of our democracy: human dignity, equality and freedom.”
Ramphele, one of the co-founders of the Black Consciousness Movement along with Steve Biko, said Agang SA had appointed three field managers so far: Pule Pule in Gauteng, Lawrence Moraswi in Limpopo, and Sam Jela in the Eastern Cape.
While she declined to comment on policies until the party’s launch on Saturday, Ramphele said the country’s poor health and education systems, failing economy and rampant corruption in government would be top priorities for the party.
She said that if Agang SA were to become a governing party after the elections, she would call for an urgent summit to find solutions to the economic crisis.
“We can develop a holistic approach to make South Africa a prosperous nation,” she said. “We have all the ingredients. We have a huge natural-resources base and a huge human-resources base. What is missing is [stronger] leadership.”
Ramphele refused to speculate about the party’s performance in next year’s elections, or discuss any plans for a possible coalition with opposition parties such as the Democratic Alliance, Congress of the People or the United Democratic Movement.
Ramphele recently visited the United States and the United Kingdom to raise funds for her campaign war chest from South Africans living abroad.
“Our funding comes mainly from South Africans in the diaspora who support this rebuilding effort. We are also talking to high-net-worth individuals at home to dig deep into their pockets to contribute to building Agang into a formidable opposition.”