Ido Lekota
Ido Lekota
The Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) will launch a political party, the Black Consciousness Movement Broad-based Political Party (BCMBPP), at the weekend.
It will take place at Barringtons in Killarney Mall on Saturday morning after a long round of discussions between the Azanian People's Organisation (Azapo), the Socialist Party of Azania (Sopa) and the Black People's Convention (BPC).
Last year the leaders of the three organisations announced that they would hold unity talks to form a strong black consciousness political party that would give South Africans an alternative to the ANC.
The unity talks were facilitated by the BCM Leadership Forum, a group including Steve Biko's mentor Ben Khoapa, former Robben Island prisoner Nchaupe Mokoape, former Azapo president and community leader Ishmael Mkhabela, and conflict-resolution specialist Thabo Ndabeni.
Yesterday Khoapa said the forum had consulted broadly about a new political party and it was now time to launch it.
"The BCM has come to the realisation that by working at odds with the principles of broad unity the movement has not only failed the people of this country at a time of need, but has also decreased its capacity to fulfil its historic mission of physically, mentally, spiritually and ideologically liberating the masses of our people who continue to be poor, exploited and oppressed," Khoapa told Sowetan yesterday.
He said an official congress will be held next month to elect the party's leaders and to announce an official party name.
bcm to launch political party
Ido Lekota
Ido Lekota
The Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) will launch a political party, the Black Consciousness Movement Broad-based Political Party (BCMBPP), at the weekend.
It will take place at Barringtons in Killarney Mall on Saturday morning after a long round of discussions between the Azanian People's Organisation (Azapo), the Socialist Party of Azania (Sopa) and the Black People's Convention (BPC).
Last year the leaders of the three organisations announced that they would hold unity talks to form a strong black consciousness political party that would give South Africans an alternative to the ANC.
The unity talks were facilitated by the BCM Leadership Forum, a group including Steve Biko's mentor Ben Khoapa, former Robben Island prisoner Nchaupe Mokoape, former Azapo president and community leader Ishmael Mkhabela, and conflict-resolution specialist Thabo Ndabeni.
Yesterday Khoapa said the forum had consulted broadly about a new political party and it was now time to launch it.
"The BCM has come to the realisation that by working at odds with the principles of broad unity the movement has not only failed the people of this country at a time of need, but has also decreased its capacity to fulfil its historic mission of physically, mentally, spiritually and ideologically liberating the masses of our people who continue to be poor, exploited and oppressed," Khoapa told Sowetan yesterday.
He said an official congress will be held next month to elect the party's leaders and to announce an official party name.