Johannesburg - The local government elections look set to be hotly contested, with a new political party considering throwing its hat in the ring.
The Black First Land First (BLF) party members are holding “serious discussions” on whether they should contest the municipal elections.
A decision would be taken at the BLF’s national executive committee meeting at the end of the month, said national convener Andile Mngxitama, who formed the party following his expulsion from the EFF last year. He was expelled for absconding from Parliament, among other charges.
The BLF, said Mngxitama, came out of a necessity to build a black consciousness and Pan Africanist movement.
“It is not a continuation of the September National Imbizo (SNI) or EFF,” he said.
He described his tenure at the radical EFF as “horrible and ugly” and dismissed it as a watered-down version of the ruling ANC.
“My term in the EFF can be described in two halves. The first half before the elective conference was really good because there was a message of inspiration, the flow of ideas was encouraging, and the leadership style was consultative,” he said.
The second part, after the inaugural elective conference in Bloemfontein in December 2014, was hellish.
“It was horrible and ugly. We saw all the tendencies of the ANC: arrogance, abuse of resources and authority manifesting.”
@iam_toh
The Star