In advance of national elections next year, the graft-tainted former secretary-general of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) formed a new left-leaning party on Wednesday.

Ace Magashule, 63, a close supporter of former president Jacob Zuma, was expelled from the ANC this year due to corruption accusations, but he still enjoys support from some voters who lean left.
Fikile Mbalula responds to Ace Magashule’s new party, also read
Magashule, Ace

“We are a new political party and we call ourselves the people’s party,” Magashule said of the new organization, whose full name is African Congress for Transformation (ACT), during a press conference in Soweto.

According to observers, the action might further erode support for the ANC.

The party has been in power since the start of democracy in 1994, but accusations of corruption and poor management have decimated its once-impressive reputation.
Fikile Mbalula responds to Ace Magashule’s new party, also read
According to polls, it may not receive more than 50% of the vote in the elections of 2024.

Magashule described his new organization as a new home for “the homeless, the betrayed, and the fatigued,” saying it wanted to promote the struggle of “all South Africans.”
ANC
He defended his former boss, Zuma, who is also under investigation for alleged bribery, by claiming that the ANC is “moving quickly towards the right and abandoning its centre-left position.”

“Zuma was hunted down like a dog for fighting white monopoly capital,” he claimed.

Ace Magashule will make a “major announcement,” also read VASTLY SOON
After a slew of scandals, Magashule was placed on administrative leave from his position as ANC secretary general in 2021. He was later kicked from of the party early this year.

In connection with the suspected embezzlement of public funds intended for the removal of asbestos from government-built dwellings, he is accused of corruption, fraud, and money laundering.
Magashule accuses Johann Rupert of being responsible for his expulsion from the ANC.
Investigators think that the equivalent of approximately $12 million was stolen because the clean-up was never finished.
Agence France-Presse, zam/ub/ri

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