By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The sacked former secretary-general of South Africa’s ruling party, African National Congress (ANC) on Wednesday unveiled a new leftwing political party ahead of 2024 elections in which President Cyril Ramaphosa is seeking a second term.
The new party’s official name was given as African Congress for Transformation (ACT).
Ace Magashule, 63, a close ally of ex-president Jacob Zuma, was removed from office over corruption allegations.
He remains popular with parts of the left-leaning electorate.
“We are a new political party and we call ourselves the people’s party,” Magashule told a press briefing in Soweto.
Analysts believe that the formation of the new party could affect the support base of the ANC that has been in power since 1994.
Magashule said his new formation aimed at championing the plight of “all South Africans”, calling it a new home for “the homeless, the betrayed and the fatigued.”
The ANC is “moving fast towards the right and abandoning its centre-left position,” he said, defending his former boss, Zuma who is also facing graft accusations.
“Zuma was hunted down like a dog for fighting white monopoly capital,” he said.
Magashule was suspended from his position as ANC secretary-general in 2021 under a new policy aimed at cleaning up the party image after a litany of scandals and was eventually expelled from the party earlier this year.
He is facing charges of corruption, fraud and money laundering, related to the alleged embezzling of public funds earmarked for the removal of asbestos from government-built homes.
The clean-up was never completed and investigators believe that the equivalent of over $12 million was siphoned.
