Vuyo Zungula: Champion of the poor, voiceless and marginalised

He holds the government to account as his speciality, but holds no grudges against anyone.

That’s Vuyolwethu Zungula, a young politician whose African Transformation Movement (ATM) has chosen to be a thorn on the side of President Cyril Ramaphosa.

His approach is not based on populism but on principle to hold the government to account.

Born and raised in Msobomvu township, eGcuwa in the Eastern Cape, Zungula says his grandparents, along with many cousins and other relatives, played a pivotal role in his life.

“My grandfather used to manufacture toilets used in the villages. I helped him on weekends.”

Although he is still single and doesn’t have children, Zungula, 35, says “that will soon be a thing of the past”.

After he matriculated, Zungula went to Nelson Mandela University (NMU) in Gqeberha to further studies.

After completing his BCom business management and accounting degree, he did his honours in business management at the University of South Africa.

He went back to full-time university life when he pursued a master of philosophy in development policy and practice with the University of Cape Town.

“I was very active in student life via the Twelve Apostles Students’ Association (Tasa) and other organisations that were for entertainment, arts and culture,” he says.

After experiencing funding challenges, he assembled a group of students who had the same struggles and they founded a bursary fund which helped more than 100 students to get funding under the Tasa banner.

His interest in politics begun to flourish while he was at NMU, which influenced his activism throughout his university life.

When not politicking, he enjoys going to church, taking part in choirs, empowering small businesses and developing young people.

Zungula describes himself as someone who does not make populist postures to entertain or make a show for the public.

“I am genuine in the sense that I do not have any personal differences with any member of parliament or politician,” he says.

“I’m a principled person and that is why in my debates, articulation and everything I do to hold the executive accountable, I focus on the transgressions, what the law is saying and the standards that are expected of a public representative.

“I do not mention any personal matter because I believe we just need to be principled as politicians. I do not insult people.”

Zungula dismisses claims that his party was formed by disgruntled ANC members who were part of a faction which lost in the ANC elective conference in 2017 and that their aim was to destabilise the Ramaphosa presidency and, ultimately, to topple it.

He says ATM was formed by churches which needed to contribute in shaping the direction of the country. These churches formed the South African Council of Messianic Churches.

The council then formed ATM, as their mouthpiece in the governance affairs of the country. The organisation received support from royal houses and community organisations which preferred ATM to become a mouthpiece for the poor, the voiceless and marginalised.

Zungula: ATM is ‘pro-South Africa’

Zungula says his party is pro-South Africa.

“In our first year in parliament, we supported budgets of government departments and proposed solutions to the problems facing the country,” he says.

“We are anti-nobody, but where there is wrongdoing we will hold the executive accountable.”

According to the ATM leader, Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala scandal made him realise that a certain powerful section of society does not have a problem with wrongdoing, abuse of power and damning allegations against a head of state, but it’s only when other members of society commit transgressions that they start to be concerned.

“South Africa can’t afford to have a president who is entangled in criminal networks and has unexplained his possession of foreign currency in his farm and under his instruction a head of a protection units uses state resources unlawfully, kidnaps and tortures alleged suspects,” says Zungula.

Asked if ATM national executive committee member Mzwanele Manyi’s role as former president Jacob Zuma’s spokesperson was not a conflict of interest, Zungula says Manyi only renders professional services to the Jacob Zuma Foundation, just like other ATM members who would render services to government entities and private companies.

Zungula has great ambitions. He says he would like to see a South Africa where all people have equal opportunities, where poverty, inequality, unemployment and crime are eradicated.

“A country where leaders are servants of the people and people are engaged in the affairs of the country, and a country where those in politics aren’t in competition, but rather collaborate, cooperate and complement each other to serve the people of the country.”

– lungam@citizen.co.za