‘Ramphele raised R30m for AgangSA’

Mamphela Ramphele. File picture: Mike Hutchings

Mamphela Ramphele. File picture: Mike Hutchings

Published Jul 11, 2014

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Johannesburg - Former AgangSA leader Mamphela Ramphele raised R30 million in cash to establish the party, a spokesman said on Friday.

"Mamphela Ramphele put an enormous amount into founding this movement. She travelled the length and breadth of South Africa to establish support for a new party, and raised R30 million in cash donations based purely on her own good name," said outgoing spokesman Philip Machanik.

Machanik announced that he had handed over to Jock McConnachie who would be in charge of on Thursday communications.

Ramphele launched AgangSA last year.

On Tuesday, she announced that she had decided to leave party politics to focus on working within civil society.

AgangSA has been marred by internal divisions as a faction tried to wrestle the leadership of the party from Ramphele.

One faction held a national executive committee meeting in Alexandra at the end of June at which it was decided that Ramphele was not fit for the position.

The group adopted a motion of no-confidence in her leadership and questioned her leadership style.

She was subsequently suspended but a group supporting Ramphele retaliated by expelling those who had attended the meeting.

This followed in the wake of Ramphele and AgangSA chairman Mike Tshishonga lodging separate fraud cases with police over a bank account opened to receive a refund from the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC), believed to be around R200,000.

Machanik attacked Ramphele's detractors in the party.

The party was heavily in debt with unpaid employee salaries and creditors, said Machanik.

"The party is deeply in debt, and they are hell-bent on destroying the party's biggest asset. The allegations of fraud against her [Ramphele] have no substance, and they know that."

In the May 7 general elections, AgangSA received 52 350 votes, 0.28 percent of the 18 654 771 votes cast, which earned it two seats in Parliament. - Sapa

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