Agang SA to rebuild

Leader of Agang Mamphela Ramphele gestures infront of the results monitors at the IEC Election Results Centre in Pretoria. 080514. Picture: Chris Collingridge 259

Leader of Agang Mamphela Ramphele gestures infront of the results monitors at the IEC Election Results Centre in Pretoria. 080514. Picture: Chris Collingridge 259

Published May 30, 2014

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Johannesburg - Agang SA will embark on rebuilding to form an organisation that would appeal to a wider selection of voters in the 2016 local elections, leader Mamphela Ramphele said on Friday.

“We have to accept that we simply did not have enough time to build as strong a ground operation as we needed to perform better, nor did we have sufficient time and resources to hone our message in order to attract voters,” she said in a statement.

“We need to take these two challenges head-on and get to work immediately. It is our aim to build our party from the ground up through developing strong and representative National Youth and Women's Forums.”

Ramphele said key to the party's rebuilding would be to create stronger representative structures on the ground.

The party would also create platforms for the youth and women to speak about the problems they faced and to find ways for women and the youth to become more central to the political debate, she said.

“It is clear for all to see that our young people remain sidelined from politics given their absence from the polls, and our women continue to suffer marginalisation, subjection, and even violence while their plight is unaided by the emerging political culture in this country where women's issues are increasingly seen to be dispensable.

“It is a great challenge, but one that I am looking forward to taking on alongside the many who remain loyal to our founding principles, our policies, and our commitment to putting the country and its citizens first,” said Ramphele.

She said Agang SA owed it to people who voted for the party in the national elections on May 7 to be ready for the local elections.

This meant building a stronger brand and a stronger organisation, she said.

Agang SA secured 52 350 votes, or 0.28 percent of the vote in the national elections.

Sapa

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