Cape Town - The Bruin Bemagtiging Beweging (Brown Empowerment Movement), led by former premier Peter Marais and others, will not register as a political party, nor will the movement contest next year’s election.
But the BBB has launched a “united front”, which its claims will, over the next few months, become “the voice of coloured people” across South Africa.
Many speculated that a new political party for coloureds would be born during the BBB 100 Unity Conference at Goudini Spa in Worcester on Monday.
Although several delegates, including smaller political parties, pushed the BBB leadership to announce the launch of a new political formation, BBB president and Human Rights commissioner Danny Titus said the new formation, a “united front”, would only be a “vehicle” for broad discussion on matters affecting coloureds.
The BBB would not participate in elections for “some time to come”.
“The way to solve the problems brown people are facing is not by launching a political party. We believe that more than that is necessary.”
The united front will be led by a “supreme council”, made up of three members from each organisation represented at the conference. Marais said a secretary and the leadership would be elected “in due course”.
Organisations at the conference included the National Coloured Party, the Independent Civic Organisation of SA, the National Khoisan Council, CapeKhoi and the SA Cape Corps Military Veterans’ Association.
Cape Argus