Songezo Zibi

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)...

Rise Mzansi the brainchild of Songezo Zibi and allies was launched with some grandeur on Johannesburg's Constitution Hill – home to the Constitutional Court and a symbol of the country's 29-year-old democracy...

New entrantsThe 2024 race which includes 37 political parties will also see several independent candidates such as: veteran activist Zackie Achmat; and former Business Day editor and founder of the Rivonia Circle think-tank Songezo Zibi; and Build One South Africa's leader Mmusi Maimane...

'For the first time the majority of South Africans agree on what is wrong ' said Songezo Zibi a leader of the Rivonia Circle think-tank...

None of that diminishes the enthusiasm of activists such as Songezo Zibi pressing for wholesale political change...

'I am prepared to lead because I know there will be no anointed messiah at any point in the future ' Rivonia Circle founder Songezo Zibi wrote in his recent book Manifesto...