Anna Majavu

Anna Majavu

ANC member of Parliament Mampe Ramotsamai has quit the party to join the Congress of the People .

Ramotsamai, pictured, is the second MP to join Cope, leading to speculation that other MPs may be waiting to see if their names are on the ANC's list of parliamentarians who would return after next year's elections before quitting the party.

Backbencher Ramotsamai, a former political prisoner, member of the public works committee in Parliament, and former deputy speaker in the Western Cape legislature, said she quit the ANC because "it changed into an organisation that has lost its soul and moral fibre".

"When Cope was established I saw a need to be part of this organisation that is looking at changing the situation in the country," she said.

She said she supported Cope's view that "social grants are not sustainable and the long-term plan should actually be to invest in education".

Ramotsamai said high-ranking politicians who had now joined Cope should not be treated with mistrust because of their past behaviour as ANC leaders.

She also claimed that outbursts by ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema had contributed to her decision to resign from the party.

Cope is faced with a legal challenge by the ANC not to use the name "congress" in their name.