Rise Mzansi rubbishes Mbalula’s claims on regime change sponsors

Rise Mzansi has accused ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula of trying to cause chaos and confusion among South Africans by discrediting Rise Mzansi and casting aspersions on the mandate of the party.

In a press briefing on Thursday, Mbalula questioned the existence of Rise Mzansi and its possible links to foreign governments with an interest in regime change.

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Rise Mzansi calls for competition

In a statement, Rise Mzansi said Mbalula’s comments did not aid democracy and fair competition among competing parties.

“As South Africa’s political establishment reads the tea leaves, which indicate its political demise through the ballot, it will employ all number of tactics, which include lies, instilling fear in the electorate, creating confusion or in the extreme employ the services of agent provocateurs to cultivate an environment of chaos,” the party said.

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ANC accused of playing dirty

According to Rise Mzansi, the ANC is in a panic over the upcoming elections and is using desperate measures to discredit other political parties.

“In the build-up to the national and provincial elections, and without a legitimate message, the lies have already started” the party said.

Rise Mzansi also lambasted the party president for his remarks during the ANC 112^th birthday celebrations where he told supporters that should South Africa not vote the ANC back into power, there was no certainty that essential programmes such as the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) would continue.

“It was President Cyril Ramaphosa who first stood up and tried to make South Africans believe that a new and ethical government would bring an end to necessary social protection interventions like the National Student Financial Aid Scheme and South African Social Security Agency grants,” the party said.

Despite this, Rise Mzansi said South Africans were smart enough to make a well-informed decision about who to vote for in the upcoming elections.

“South Africans are smarter than this, so the political establishment has moved onto further lies, by stating that there is a programme of so-called “regime change”, the party said.

The ANC is not the only party to accuse Rise Mzansi of being funded by foreign countries.

EFF president Julius Malema also questioned the funding model of Rise Mzansi in a media briefing a few weeks ago.

But Rise Mzansi responded to the allegations saying the party is funded by patriotic South Africans who wanted to see a change in their country. The party had also indicated that it would be transparent to the Electoral Commission of South Africa about its donors.