Nobody articulated the rage of millions of South Africans better than Ayanda Allie when she responded to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent State of the Nation address. In this interview with BizNews, she describes how the president’s utterances made “something rose up inside me and it was like a fire shot up at my bones and I just could not let that go”. Allie speaks about her role as the Communications Director for Build One South Africa (BOSA), her MP candidacy, and the issues she would prioritise as an MP. She also graciously agreed to sing the title track from her album “We the People”, a song “that says, we the people of South Africa, we say no, no to corruption, no to injustice, no to poverty, no to unemployment, and no to this social milieu that we’re seeing where people have no hope and no sense for the future”. – Chris Steyn
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Relevant timestamps from the interview
00:00 – Introduction
00:35 – On her viral response to the President
04:15 – Why BOSA?
06:30 – What would be your priorities as an MP?
09:30 – A song from your album
11:40 – Conclusion
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Highlights from the interview ___STEADY_PAYWALL___
Speaking truth to Cyril:
“I myself didn’t anticipate that that is what my reaction would be. But it came to a crescendo when I heard the president say that he would make sure that those who are responsible for state capture would be brought to book and that the monies that were wasted would be recovered.
“And I think something rose up inside me and it was like a fire shot up at my bones and I just could not let that go. And I mentioned that it was so interesting that the head of state would say all of those things, especially since the people who are responsible for state capture are right there with him in that room. That he himself at the time of state capture was deputy president and that he allowed, if not advanced, state capture and I thought we were taken for fools as South Africans – and I made it known that that’s how we felt.”
“And I think the reason why it gained such popularity is because my utterances were not new and they were not groundbreaking in any way, shape or form, but they were exactly what South Africans were thinking, were feeling. And I think it just gave a platform to the millions of South Africans, black, white, coloured, Indian, you name it, young, old, whatever. All of us were in this corner thinking “I’m unsettled, I’m frustrated”, but then there was a voice that just captured everybody’s sentiments.”
Her role as Communications Director for Build One South Africa South Africa (BOSA):
“I’ve always been, I suppose, politically inclined because I had a strong sense of justice…I think I was drawn to the values of Build One South Africa because they had a bottom-up approach to this politics thing. So they were already engaging with people who were in the community, running programmes and organisations and advocacy and really doing so much already with their own resources that when I then was introduced to this world of active citizens who are sacrificing for the country, who are fighting for justice, it was such a natural fit for me that the politics I think became a byproduct.”
Why she became a Candidate MP:
“I want to put my money where my mouth is and I want to have some skin in the game. So when I’m fighting for this Build One South Africa, I know that I’m fighting something in a vehicle that I have thrown my full weight behind as well.”
Her priorities if she wins a seat in Parliament:
“I do believe that the very fabric of our society is being torn apart because of social ills, because of a number of societal challenges that we’re facing. And I think if we’re going to change our mindset and create the Ubuntu that we want to see, that unity, that togetherness, we have to start in schools.
“Now we know that the impediments to learning more often than not, have got very little to do with academia, but more with the social context that the child is living in. So if we do have guidance counselors or social workers in your schools able to help these children to adapt, to have grit, to overcome their challenges, they’ll be able to perform better in the classroom, but will also be able to repair the social fabric of this country to heal each individual one child at a time. So I think one of the things I’d love to advocate for is the reinstatement of your guidance counselors and or social workers in your schools.”
Her album “We The People”:
She describes the title track as a song “that says, we the people of South Africa, we say no, no to corruption, no to injustice, no to poverty, no to
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