ATM President Vuyo Zungula says Progressive Caucus is the future. Picture: Oupa Mokoena Independent Newspapers
“Andizi!!” These were the sentiments shared by both EFF leader Julius Malema and African Transformation Movement (ATM) leader Vuyolethu Zungula.
Zungula told ‘The Star’ on Saturday that his organisation was not going to be a party to something that did not have a programme of action.
He said the ANC’s Statement of Intent meant nothing without a proper explanation on what direction they were headed to.
“The ATM cannot participate in an arrangement where there is no programme of action, where there are no agreed upon principles and priorities.
“The Statement of Intent is not enough, they need to go further than that and produce a comprehensive programme of action which will highlight government priorities.
“Therefore, we have no intentions of turning our back on the Progressive Caucus. In fact it’s the Progressive Caucus that will keep engaging progressive parties to join us and collaborate on progressive legislative issues,” Zungula said.
For the first time in a democratic South Africa, the ATM leader said, there was a formal caucus of progressive parties that have pledged to collaborate not only on common legislative issues but also on holding the executive accountable, and that the ATM believed it would succeed.
Meanwhile, Malema stuck to his party’s conviction that they would not participate in the GNU for as long as organisation such as the DA and Freedom Front Plus were part of the GNU.
“We have made it clear that for us to participate, the DA and FF+ cannot be involved, and we insist on RDP houses in Orania,” he added.
On the question of whether he thinks the UDM sold out, Zungula said the UDM was an independent political party which was free to join the ANC-DA coalition if they so wished.
“It’s not a question of selling out. The nature of the Progressive Caucus is to bring together progressive political parties to work together on common legislative issues. So the question of selling out does not necessarily arise at least in the immediate.”
The Star
sipho.jack@inl.co.za
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