22 August 2024
We welcome all members of the media and send our greetings to all the people of South Africa, the African continent, and the world. We as uMkhonto weSizwe party would like to send our most sincere gratitude and thankfulness once again to the people South Africa for the support given to our party in the 2024 General Elections.
We currently stand as the Official Opposition in Parliament and represented by 121 Members of Parliament and Members of Provincial Legislatures in 7 of the 9 Provinces of South Africa. We are the largest political party in the province of KwaZulu Natal, second largest Party in Mpumalanga and represented in different other Legislatures. We are a serious role player in the politics of South Africa, and we will continue to grow as a true liberation movement that is fighting for total freedom from our oppressors and from colonialism.
We still stand by our objections to the 2024 elections results and our Lawyers are finalising a very comprehensive submissions which will illustrate that there was rigging of votes. We will not retreat from this case until every electoral fraud is exposed. Our objection to the elections results does and will not mean that we must not represent our people in Legislatures and Parliament.
We are in the process of assembling the best and skilled Public Representatives in South Africa and send them to Parliament and Legislatures to represent our people. By all measure and standards, the people we are deploying to Parliament will be the most skilled, most accomplished, and most experienced collective with resounding and verifiable track record in government and other sectors of society. The MKP will choose and deploy the best of the best into Parliament, Legislatures and Councils, and except in exceptional few cases, those deployed in Parliament will not be leaders of the MK Party. We are separating functions of those who lead the Party and those who go to Parliament and Legislatures. The MK Party will provide political and ideological direction to those who are deployed to Parliaments and Government and not the other way round, where those deployed in Government give direction to the Party.
We have now come to the era of fully establishing ourselves as an organisation which will be responsible for all work in all communities and in the different legislatures where we have representatives. When we announced our existence as a political party on the 16th of December 2023, we did not have an opportunity to fully establish ourselves as an organisation that is represented in all the corners of South Africa. We are doing so now based on the principle that we will avoid combining and mixing Parliament and Legislatures deployment with the leadership of the MK Party. Except in instances of Officials and in other areas where we will decide, deployees to Parliament and Government are not going to occupy leadership responsibilities in the Party.
The time has now arrived that we should establish ourselves as a full organisation with structures and members in all the Voting Districts, the Wards, Sub Regions, Regions and Provinces. We are today announcing a leadership collective that will be tasked with the full establishment of MKP as a liberation movement that will be represented in all corners of South Africa and should start preparations for the 2026 and 2029 Elections. The MKP is the only liberation movement in South Africa because those historically tasked with the liberation of our people have abandoned the cause. We are fighting on and we will never surrender and we will not retreat.
The uMkhonto weSizwe Party will be led by the National High Command which will be comprised of Commanders of different skills set and experiences. The High Command of the MKP will be the highest decision-making body compromised of 8 Officials and Additional Members not exceeding 45. The 8 Officials will be President, Deputy President, Secretary General, Deputy Secretary General, Treasurer General, National Chairperson and National Organiser. Today we are announcing the composition of the High Command Officials and some of the additional Members. We will over the next few weeks announce the complete composition of the High Command because some of the people must finish their assignments and work in areas where they currently are. The complete composition of the High Command will be gender balanced and will have all demographics of South Africa sufficiently covered.
- The President of the MKP is the Commander of the Organisation and will give political and ideological leadership and guidance to the whole organisation. The PRESIDENT is also for the Commissariat and INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS.
- The Deputy President will be head of Parliamentary Caucus, Legal Affairs and responsible for the National Disciplinary matters.
- The Treasurer General is responsible for Fundraising, Budgeting, Audit and accounting compliance, merchandising and all assets of the Organisation.
- The Secretary General is the Chief Executive Officer of the Organisation and is custodian of the following functions: Membership and related systems, Deployment, Monitoring and Evaluation of Governance particularly MKP Caucuses and Public Representatives working with the National Organiser, Communications, and Security. The Secretary General in concurrence with the National Organiser is responsible for the establishment of MKP structures and the Leagues.
- Deputy Secretary General assists the Secretary General is responsible for the Human Capital of the Organisation and all contractual obligations.
- National Organiser responsible for Organising, development of MKP organisational documents and guidelines, Political Education, Policy and Research, Monitoring and Evaluation of Governance particularly MKP Caucuses and Public Representatives working with the Secretary General, Cadre Development. The National Organiser is also responsible for the representation of MKP in the IEC structures. The National Organiser in concurrence with the Secretary General is responsible for the establishment of MKP structures and the Leagues.
- National Chairperson with preside over all High Command meetings and national gatherings of the MKP. The Chairperson is also responsible for stakeholder relations, particularly Traditional Leaders and Religious sector.
- Deputy National Chairperson will deputise the National Chairperson and will be responsible for looking after the welfare of Military Veterans.
The National High Command will immediately reconfigure the Provincial Detachments, Regional Detachments and the leadership composition of the Women League, Youth League, and Students’ Movement. The prerogative to appoint the leadership structures remains that of the President through the Secretary General’s Office. The National High Command will also establish the necessary support structures and Committees including a Finance Committee, Communications Committee, Economic Transformation Committee, Safety and Security Committee, Social Transformation Committee, and other AD HOC committees for specific functions. The High Command will also convene a National Policy Conference to discuss and adopt the finalised policies on all areas affecting our communities and society.
Underneath the High Command, the MKP will be led by Provincial Detachments composed of Provincial Commander, Coordinator, Organiser and Fundraiser and two people representing each region in the Province and 2 representatives of each League of the MKP. Underneath the Provinces will be Regional Detachments composed of Regional Convenor, Coordinator, Organiser and Fundraiser and 2 people representing each sub region or zone in the said region and the representatives of the Leagues. Underneath the Regional Detachments will be sub-regional Detachments which will be organised alongside Local Municipalities and Zones in the case of Metropolitan Municipalities. The Sub-Regional Detachments will be led by sub-regional convenors and coordinators.
The immediate tasks of all these structures is to put in place sub regional and zonal structures which will in turn launch VD based structures as the most basic unit of the MKP. The roles of all MKP structures, members and activists will be to take up community issues and prepare for the upcoming elections which the MKP will win decisively. The structures we are establishing are not established for elective Conferences because we will not convene any elective conference until we have maximum stability and presence in all corners of South Africa. The MKP is at its establishment process and will not convene elective Conferences because we know what such can do to undermine our unity and progress as an organisation.
We commit that the leadership collective we are announcing today is the leadership of MKP and there will not be constant changes because we took our time to consult and finalise the collective. We have full confidence in the names of all the people we have identified, including those who are still going to join our liberation movement. We will however not tolerate laziness and divisive leaders whose only and primary purpose is to sow divisions in our ranks.
We as the MKP call for the unity and unification of all progressive political parties to fight against white minority rule in South Africa. We have an obligation as Progressive Forces to rise above our differences and build a solid and sound organisation that will represent our people genuinely. There is unnecessarily a high number of political parties in South Africa, and such undermines the unity of the oppressed who have still not won the struggle against colonialism. Those who defeated us and continue to oppress us are united but we the oppressed are divided into many small parties. We as the MKP will strive for the ultimate unity of political parties that represent our people.
We remain opposed to the so-called Government of National Unity because it not a Government of National Unity, but a coalition between the ANC of Ramaphosa and the Democratic Alliance. We will as the MKP be the voice of the voiceless and will represent ordinary people on the ground. We will fight for real economic transformation and redress of the imbalances of the past. We will uproot all the consequences of apartheid and colonialism.
We remain opposed to the ANC of Ramaphosa because it has been sold to the control by the representatives of our oppressors. When uMKHONTO WESIZWE was launched in 1961, it was a statement of defiance and refusal to surrender after the real ANC was banned in 1960. uMKHONTO WESIZWE represents a complete refusal to be silenced. It is an instrument for total liberation and freedom, and many people here in South Africa are beginning to notice that a captured ANC is no longer and will never be an instrument of liberation.
We therefore call on all courageous leaders who are refusing to be silenced and those who are refusing to surrender to come join uMKHONTO WESIZWE PARTY in this critical and important phase of its growth and development. We are preparing ourselves for the future and we have no doubt that we shall overcome.
We are going to fight for the interests and aspirations of ordinary people on the ground and we are going to sharply increase the quality of policy alternatives which will be based on sound and clear principles of redress and empowerment of the historically excluded people of South Africa. We will work with Churches and all Religious institutions. We will continue to interact with Traditional and Royal Leaders and will also respect the rights of Traditional Healers. Traditional Leadership institutions must be given the necessary support and attention they deserve.
The MKP remains committed to the Progressive Caucus in the National Parliament and all Provincial Legislatures. We will never engage in any activity or programme that seeks to undermine the unity of Progressive Forces. We have to demonstrate maximum unity against the so-called GNU and mobilise our people to reject the alliance of the right-wing political formations.
The National High Command will continue its engagements with different Unions and Civil Society formations including those that are in alliance with other political parties. The MKP will strive for unity and unification of Unions in different sectors and will strive to achieve such. This does not mean that Unions and workers must allow to be abused by political parties for narrow electoral politics.
The leadership collective of the High Command is as follows:
President: President JACOB G ZUMA
Deputy President: DR. JOHN HLOPHE
Secretary General: DR SIFISO MASEKO
Deputy Secretary General: NOMBUSO MKHIZE
National Organiser: NYIKO FLOYD SHIVAMBU
National Chairperson: NKOSINATHI NHLEKO
Deputy National Chairperson: WILSON SIBILOANE
Treasurer General: MENZI MAGUBANE
OTHER MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL HIGH COMMAND:
- Gobizizwe Makhanya
- Dr Ndivhoniswani Tshidzumba
- Sbusiso Xulu
- Sindiswa Mthembu
- Themba Abraham Monyela
- Mandla Sidu
- Duduzile Kate Mabizela
- Nompumelelo Daisy Tshiloane
- Julius Msingwane
- Irene Quvile Nomachule
- Lungelo Madlingozi
- Nweti Grace Bila
- Sello Neville Motlhabakwe
- Papi Tau
- Mogokare Richard Seleke
- Mamotlhe Dina Motau
- Ndumiso Matlala
- Matilda Radebe
- Prince Nkitsing Mokotedi
- Phanuel Manana
- Nomusa Cecilia Mpontshane
- Noluthando Shozi
These are the Commanders who constitute the National High Command of the MKP and the highest decision-making body. These leaders come from all Provinces of South Africa and represent different skills set, experience, expertise, generational mix and capacity. We have full confidence in all of the leaders we have announced, and we will make further announcements on those who will join the collective.
We command all lower structures and Public Representatives of the MKP to subject themselves to this leadership collective and be guided by maximum discipline. We will not tolerate and will not accommodate anyone who will seek to undermine the leadership collective. All communications to the organisation will happen through the office of the Secretary General and all designated leaders in different levels.
South Africa in all Provinces, Regions, Sub-regions, Wards, and Voting Districts must expect structures of the MK Party! SIYEZA!
I THANK YOU!
