The United Democratic Movement (UDM) party is set to announce Professor Mthunzi Mdwaba as its Gauteng premier candidate on Thursday.
A highly placed source inside the UDM has told The Star that Mdwaba was an obvious choice to lead the province as he would appeal to the middle class.
“Mthunzi is an astute professional and an academic of note, so by virtue of having such credentials it can boost his chances in Gauteng.
“His background and experience in the corporate sector can also boost the organisation, as one of his strong attributes is persuading people with facts. Therefore, we are extremely confident as the organisation that we will give whoever is going to contest in the province a run for their money,” the source said.
UDM secretary-general Yongama Zigebe would not confirm nor deny whether Mdwaba would be confirmed as the Gauteng premier candidate for the organisation.
“All that I can confirm is that Mdwaba is on the UDM’s IEC list, and everything else, you will hear it from the press conference on Thursday,” said Zigebe.
Mdwaba is an accomplished businessman, organised business activist, academic and thought leader committed to social justice at global level, who believes that the international Labour Organisation (ILO), and multilateralism in general, have a profound role to play.
He joined the party early in February 2024, alongside trade unionist Tahir Maepa, who is the secretary-general of the Public Sector Commercial Union.
Welcoming the professor, UDM president General Bantu Holomisa said he was looking forward to the contributions of Mdwaba and other new members of the party.
“The ruling party has been acting like an opposition party, lamenting problems in South Africa, yet for 30 years they had the mandate and the tools to fix the problems in the country. They did the exact opposite,” said Holomisa at the time.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of his announcement as a UDM member, Mdwaba said he joined the UDM because it was the party that represented constitutional values, and fighting against corruption.
He said he had spoken to his colleagues on how they can take the country forward, given its socio-economic challenges, and the UDM was the right vehicle to do that.
“Why the UDM? The UDM has for many years stood on the right side of history, and has fought corruption. It has quietly done its work. They inform me they write letters on a daily basis that appear on their website to fight for normal men and women on the ground,” said Mdwaba.
The Star