About Us

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MEANING OF THE NAME

“Batho Pele” (Sesotho) translates to:

“People First” in English

“Abantu Kuqala” in Isixhosa

“Mense Eerste” in Afrikaans

Batho Pele Movement was founded in 2021 with a fundamental goal to make Batho Pele principles work for the people through service delivery.

Batho Pele Principles were initially introduced as a political initiative by South Africa’s first democratic President, Nelson Mandela’s administration on 01 October 1997. The aim of this

initiative was to get public servants to be service orientated, strive for excellence in service

delivery and commit to continuous service delivery improvement.

Since October 1997, the aim and objective of the Batho Pele set of principles has not been

reached. This leaves the people that they were meant to serve at a disadvantage and with little

hope for the future.

The South African political space is one riddled with internal party politics and corruption, this

takes the focus away from the core mandate, which is to put “People First”. We therefore have

resolved to stay away from party politics and corruption and practice Batho Pele principles in

conjunction with our values in order to bring the true meaning of democracy to the People –

Batho – Abantu.

We will establish a political culture that promotes transparency, accountability and economic

development.

Democracy is government of the people, by the people and for the people.

2.1 BPM is a people-centred, non-racial and non-sexist democratic liberation movement

that has been established to drive the service delivery vehicle through Batho Pele

principles.

2.2 BPM contests elections as a nationally registered political party.

2.3 BPM in its composition and functioning shall be democratic, non-racial and non-sexist as

it is against any form of discrimination.

2.4 BPM will support the emancipation of vulnerable groups and ensure that their voices are

heard and are represented at levels within the organisation.

2.5 BPM is against all forms of violence and does not believe in the use of violence as means

to attain political, social, economic or religious objectives.

2.6 BPM considers democracy as a core value, to the extent that its policies are determined

by community representatives and the leadership is accountable to the people in line

with this constitution.

2.7 BPM firmly believes in freedom of speech, freedom of expression and free circulation of

ideas within the movement.

2.8 BPM recognises and respects the diversity of its members.

2.9 BPM is against all forms of factionalism, rumour mongering, slander and character

assassination.

2.10 BPM shall cooperate closely with religious bodies in the country and shall

recognise the spiritual needs of its members who are believers.

Ms. Veliswa Mvenya launched the Batho Pele Movement on 1 June 2021. She had a long history in South African politics—including being a teacher and later serving as a legislator—and she felt that service delivery in rural and underserved communities was failing. 

Her passion stems from the repeated stories she encountered of citizens being neglected by government services. For example, in a comment to a reporter she said:

“It was saddening that I would listen to people … complaining about the kind of service they get at government facilities hence I decided to start the movement in 2021.” 

Mvenya positioned BPM as a “non-hierarchical party” and a movement focused squarely on service delivery rather than conventional party politics.