By Marcus Moloko
Afrika Mayibuye Movement leader Floyd Shivambu has made explosive claims about the conduct of South Africa’s political parties.
Speaking at his party’s inaugural National Convention in Soweto, Shivambu said he had personally witnessed meetings where opposition leaders discussed how to divide government contracts for personal gain.
“The agenda was how to steal government money. There was a discussion on how to steal. you must steal this much and you must steal this much,” he told delegates, adding that such practices were entrenched across the political spectrum.
Shivambu did not specify which political party he was referring to, having been a member of both the EFF and former president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe Party.
He said that he was referring to all parties in Parliament, and that he had observed an “official item on the agenda” that revolved around corrupt tender allocations.
He alleged that all political parties represented in Parliament view the tender system as a basis to raise revenue for electoral purposes, rather than as a mechanism to deliver services to citizens.
“[A]ll existing political parties want to protect the tender system and view it as a resource,” he said, insisting that his movement was “in pursuit of something else”.
The tender system, a cornerstone of South Africa’s procurement process, has long been criticised for enabling corruption and patronage.
Investigations such as the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture documented how tenders were manipulated to benefit politically connected individuals and fund party structures.
At the convention, Shivambu positioned the Afrika Mayibuye Movement as a “21st-century liberation movement” dedicated to restoring dignity to South Africans.
He said that the party would contest the 2026 local government elections with ambitions of securing outright majorities nationwide, rejecting corrupt coalitions or extortion in post-election negotiations.
“We are not postulating any coalitions. We are contesting elections to win them outright,” he said, stressing that Mayibuye would not engage in tender-driven deals that have destabilised metros like Johannesburg and Tshwane.
Shivambu’s critique of the tender system has sparked debate.
Some parties, including reformist voices within the ANC and smaller opposition groups, have argued for scrapping or radically restructuring the tender process to reduce opportunities for graft.
Proposals include centralising procurement, introducing stricter oversight, or shifting toward community-driven development models.
Shivambu’s stance aligns with these calls, but he frames the issue as evidence of systemic rot across all existing formations.
“All the existing political formations have no willingness, no capacity, no determination and no possibility to change the lives of our people,” he said in videos, citing the low voter turnout in the 2024 general elections as proof of public disillusionment.
The Afrika Mayibuye Movement, launched this year after Shivambu’s expulsion from the MK Party, has already faced internal challenges, including high-profile resignations and factional disputes.
Shivambu insisted the party was “here to stay” and would build grassroots structures across all nine provinces.
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