In a statement on Thursday, The People’s Dialogue founder and former mayor of Johannesburg Herman Mashaba said “the dialogue” was over and it was “time for action”.
He said his party had reached the end of three months of engagement “and the hard work of building a new political party will now begin”, especially by targeting an estimated 19 million eligible voters who had stayed away from the ballot boxes in 2019.
He said he wants to build a credible alternative to the ANC and was “deeply touched by the level of patriotism, goodwill and belief in a better future that has been evident from the engagements to date”.
“We have already begun the work of analysing the millions of engagements we have had from South Africans of all walks of life and across the political spectrum. All the inputs received will be analysed and presented at an event I will be convening on March 24, where the voices of these South Africans will be heard. This is an essential part of our approach, we want to hear from the people of this country and draw on their passion, expertise and goodwill.”
He said initial feedback suggested to him that a large number of South Africans shared his values and he he could see from the input received that four major issues would top his party’s agenda.
He undertook to “work with the best and most dedicated South Africans to set up the new political party”.
(Edited by Charles Cilliers)
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