Songezo Zibi

Songezo Zibi (Rise Mzansi): Leader of Rise Mzansi and chair of the influential Select Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) which scrutinises probity in public spending...

05%) of Gayton McKenzie; Rise Mzansi led by Songezo Zibi; and the United Movement (UDM 0...

New kids on the block While smaller parties like Patricia de Lille's Good Songezo Zibi's Rise Mzansi and Mmusi Maimane's Build One South Africa (Bosa) were also campaigning in Cape Town they face an uphill battle...

Polls suggest that the MPC could achieve as much as 35% of the vote and seek closer links with like-minded opposition parties that have opted to stay outside the group such as Songezo Zibi's Rise Mzansi Mmusi Maimane's Build One South Africa and Gayton McKenzie's Patriotic Alliance (AC Vol 64 No 9 Writing the next act & Vol 65 No 6 Parties prepare for the costliest election & Vol 65 No 1 Tumbling support for ANC ends liberation era)...

Their strength will be tested after two years of intense organisation and team building: Rise Mzansi (RISE) headed by former newspaper editor and corporate communications executive Songezo Zibi whose inclusive style of leadership has won praise from poor South Africans and business leaders alike; Build One South Africa (BOSA) was founded by Mmusi Maimane the former leader of the DA who quit in frustration (AC Vol 60 No 23 The DA's race dilemma)...

Several of the smaller parties – such as Songezo Zibi's Rise Mzansi and Mmusi Maimane's Build One South Africa – have opted to remain outside the MPC but have indicated they will negotiate with it after the election...

In 2022/23 Rise Mzansi led by former journalist Songezo Zibi received R15m from Rebecca Oppenheimer...

These parties – including new ones such as Songezo Zibi's Rise Mzanzi Roger Jardine's Change Starts Now former ANC Western Cape leader Marius Fransman's People's Movement for Change (PMC) and Herman Mashaba's ActionSA – are entering the race adamant they can take away votes from the ANC and the main opposition the DA...

Newcomers such as Songezo Zibi's Rise Mzansi and Roger Jardine's Change Starts Now which are not part of either group would be in a strong position to bargain for inclusion in the MPC alliance after the election and could even become kingmakers depending on the arithmetic (AC Vol 64 No 25 Former ANC business brain may take over Moonshot Pact)...

And Songezo Zibi (Rise Mzansi) was an activist in the PAC and the youth wing of the Azanian People's Organisation; the two organisations agreed on an electoral alliance in 2022...

The most promising of the newcomers are Songezo Zibi's Rise Mzansi Mmusi Maimane's Build One South Africa (Bosa) and Jardine's Change Starts Now – none of which are yet represented in national or regional assemblies...

Instead those are coming from smaller parties like Rise Mzansi led by Songezo Zibi (AC Vol 64 No 9 Writing the next act)...