Picture File: Former ActionSA Gauteng chairperson, Bongani Baloyi speaks at a press conference in Sandton on 24 January 2022. Picture: Michel Bega
Former ActionSA Gauteng provincial leader Bongani Baloyi has announced that he will form a new political party called Xiluva.
Baloyi made the announcement on Thursday afternoon, during a press conference in Sandton, Johannesburg.
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This follows his resignation from ActionSA almost three weeks ago.
Baloyi was joined by former ActionSA Ekurhuleni councillor and caucus leader, Tlhogi Moseki, during his press briefing. Moseki resigned from ActionSA on Wednesday and will be the national chairperson of Xiluva.
Baloyi said his new party will be led by young people and contest next year’s much-anticipated national and provincial elections.
He said Xiluva was for the youth in South Africa who are “desperately seeking an alternative” political home from the country’s existing political parties.
“This political home is for those who believe that they do not have any stake in our democracy, those who are bystanders, watching politicians gamble their future away.
“This is the birth of Xiluva. A political home for those who want a real alternative led by young people, a political party where young people can see themselves in leadership,” said Baloyi.
Baloyi, a former Midvaal mayor and Democratic Alliance (DA) member, quit ActionSA after “irreconcilable differences” between him and ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba over the running of the party’s Gauteng structures and a difference of opinion about policy issues.
In January last year, Baloyi joined ActionSA after terminating his membership as a member of the DA in December 2021. He was a member of the country’s official opposition party for 14 years.
Baloyi said Xiluva will be founded on the values of family, ubuntu (humanity), community, and multiracialism.
“This is a fundamental departure from the status quo of the body politics of our country. It is exactly what our country needs right now.
“We believe in a South Africa that is built on the ideological philosophy of ubuntu, a homegrown ideology birthing a multiracial South Africa which embraces our diversity and weaves this into a beautiful tapestry that shapes a new South African identity and sense of nationhood.”
Baloyi said over the next coming months, he will be working to grow Xiluva and develop its policies.
The new party will be registered with the Electoral Commission of South Africa on Monday.
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