Maimane, Mashaba not starting political party together

Former DA heavyweights Herman Mashaba and Mmusi Maimane have confirmed that they are not joining forces.

In a joint statement released on Thursday, they confirmed that they would not be starting a political party together and would be starting two separate movements.

There were murmurs that Maimane and Mashaba would establish a political party following their resignations from the DA shortly after Helen Zille was elected federal council chair.

The two men apparently disagreed on the type of movement that should be started, with Mashaba wanting to immediately contest the upcoming local government elections, while Maimane wants to establish a broader movement that he says should go beyond just politics.

Mashaba established The People’s Dialogue last month and Maimane has now started the Movement for One South Africa.

“Both initiatives have the common goal of fixing our country and building a South Africa that works for all its people,” the joint statement read.

“Importantly, we do not see these as competing initiatives, but rather complementary ones.

“While Herman is focused on building a political party that can contest local government elections in 2021, Mmusi is dedicated to the objective of building a national movement that can unite forces to fix our country.”

They said they do not see their movements clashing on ideas as they are both focused on fixing SA.

“We would like to emphasise that we have the deepest respect for one another and continue support each other’s respective, independent efforts to deliver real, transformational change in SA.

“Ultimately, the objective of fixing SA can only be achieved through the collective efforts of all those who stand opposed to corruption and stand for the vision of an SA that works for all its people,” they said.