BOSA's Maimane returns to Parliament, vows to hold govt accountable for jobs, education
Mmusi Maimane will be one of two members representing his party, along with first-timer, Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster.
The BOSA leader Mmusi Maimane and deputy Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster addressing the unemployed outside Cape Town City Hall on Wednesday 2 February 2024. Picture: @BuildOneSA/X.
CAPE TOWN - After a four-and-a-half-year absence from Parliament, Build One South Africa (BOSA) leader Mmusi Maimane will be making a return, this time at the helm of the party he started.
His return follows the launch of his book last month, in which he accused former Democratic Alliance (DA) MPs and leader, John Steenhuisen, of bringing him down.
Maimane will be one of two members representing his party, along with first-timer, Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster.
He said he believed it was enough to make a difference.
Maimane was not shy to take on authority when he called former President Jacob Zuma a broken man presiding over a broken society and of having broken Parliament.
His parliamentary questioning of President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2018, led to an investigation into his presidential campaign funding.
But now Maimane will be an almost lone voice.
"It's completely possible that your ideals can be represented in a way that makes sense, you don’t have to win every vote because that's the only time your numbers work."
Maimane, who started his movement campaigning for the inclusion of independent candidates, said that he would continue to push for changes to the electoral law.
"I'm coming back to Parliament to not only fight for that bill to ensure there’s better accountability but to hold whatever government that comes into play accountable to ensure there's jobs and there's an education."
He said that BOSA had laid the foundation to represent values not shared by the big four parties in Parliament and that the 2026 local government elections would be significant for his party.