On Wednesday, the disgraced former secretary-general of the South African ruling political party African National Congress (ANC), Ace Magashule, established a new party ahead of general elections in South Africa next year.
Ace Magashule, the closest supporter of ex-president Jacob Zuma, was dismissed from the ANC this year over allegations of corruption but he remains famous with parts of the left-leaning electorate.
Magashule told a press briefing that we are a new political party and we name ourselves the People’s party. The official name of the new group is the African Congress for Transformation (ACT).
The step could also weaken support for the ANC, reviewers say.
ANC has been in office since the beginning of democracy in 1994 but its once-stellar post has been mishandled by allegations of corruption and mismanagement.
The new party aimed at supporting the difficulty of all South Africans, Magashule said. ANC is driving quickly towards the right and leaving its center-left position, he said, supporting his ex-boss, Zuma as the target of a witch hunt. Zuma was chased down like a dog for opposing white monopoly capital, he added.
Magashule was suspended from his position as ANC secretary general in 2021 under a new guideline that sought to cleanse up the party vision after an invocation of scandals and was finally ejected from the party earlier this year.
He is encountering indictments of corruption, fraud, and money laundering, connected to the alleged stealing of public funds reserved for the removal of asbestos from government-built homes.
The clean-up was never concluded and investigators think that the equivalent of over $12 million was swiped.
