Committed Rise Mzansi worker campaigns out of the spotlight

Axolile Notywala may not operate in the full glare of political publicity, but he’s as committed as any other party worker ahead of next year’s general election. Notywala is campaigning on the streets of poor communities in places such as Khayelitsha in Cape Town, where he has been active in social movements for the past 15 years.

He has thrown in his lot for 2024 with Rise Mzansi, one of the new political parties on the block which says it has 200 organisers across the country. The party was officially launched in April by Songezo Zibi and former DA Youth member Makashule Gana. They have been recruiting business leaders and young activists such as Notywala, who joined last year and is the Western Cape convener.

He says Cape Town’s wealthy areas and tourist attractions don’t reflect reality for most people in the city. Crime is a big issue for everyone, but in the parts where Notywala works extortion is especially rife. “It’s primarily affecting townships and people who are just trying to make a living. People are scared to start their businesses because they know they have to work for someone. They have to pay someone,” he says.

On a more prosaic level, so is refuse collection. “Khayelitsha smells like a dumping site because rubbish has not been collected for months. This is the government’s responsibility — you start to see these inequalities.” Extortion may be new, he says, but refuse collection has been a problem for at least 10 years.

Notywala believes his party will win 7.5% — about 1.8-million votes. “We have organisers in communities speaking to people daily. This is not something that you will see on social media.”

He says education should focus on building skills. “We have not provided enough support to FET [further education and training] colleges.” Arts, culture and sport have also been neglected, he says. “Sometimes, if you get a soccer ball, there’s no field to train. These are spaces where we have many young creatives who do not have the necessary support.”

Notywala wants everyone to be involved in shaping a better future for South Africa. “Particularly the middle class, because they’ve got a certain class privilege and they’ve got social capital that they can use and contribute towards changing the country.

“If you look at extortion and gang violence, it happens primarily in townships. When there’s nothing more to extort in townships, people are going to come for the middle class. It’s going to come to the point where you can’t drive your car without having to pay someone,” he says. “If we don’t care about these things that affect the working class, they are going to affect us.”

Elections analyst Wayne Sussman says Notywala can build on his contacts and name recognition in the townships. “He will be competing against Zackie Achmat [an independent candidate] and Good [party], especially the former for the social justice voters in the city bowl and townships. Some of these voters will be disaffected former ANC voters.”

Rise Mzansi has been one of the first parties to get election posters up. “It even upstaged some of the more established political parties in the first voter registration weekend,” says Sussman. “Its provincial convener has strong links with the traditional townships and it’ll hope this pays some dividends as we go into the elections into 2024.”

He says 7% would be a remarkable achievement for a new political party, especially as the EFF obtained 6% in its debut in the 2014 elections. “I think that is easier said than done. I do think that we are in for a very fluid election. This is going to be the most exciting election since 1994.”

Sussman says that while crime and service delivery issues will form part of the elections, they won’t be the main issue. “The elections will be fought on a range of matters. I don’t think it will be the principal issue, but it might be a rallying point for opposition voters.”