Give us service, not schmooze
Eastern Cape warns ANC politicians to prioritise people rather than internal squabbles
AS ANC bigwigs descended on East London this weekend to “connect with the people” ahead of the party’s 106th birthday bash, the response from the ground was clear – people are not impressed by celebrity or by internal wrangles, they want service.
National executive committee (NEC) members have been visible visiting communities in the Eastern Cape since Friday.
Among them Ministers Malusi Gigaba, Fikile Mbalula, Naledi Pandor and Nomvula Mokonyane and Cos Zingiswa Losiwho were spread wide from Mdantsane, Duncan Village and Potsdam all the way to Lusikisiki, to drum up support for Saturday’s 106th birthday bash at Buffalo City Stadium.
ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa’s first annual ‘January 8’ Statement to be delivered on January 13 this year to party members and supporters is expected to set the tone for the ANC and government this year.
But party members and supporters expressed a little seen before cynicism, saying they had lost faith in empty promises and warned politicians to prioritise the people rather than internal squabbles.
Potsdam resident Thembeka Livi on Friday said ANC members and supporters were fast losing faith in the party. She was speaking at a public gathering in Potsdam which was addressed Mbalula. “Our ANC does not know how to deliver services to its people. I’ve lived in this community for more than 30 years, but we still don’t have houses, our kids are unemployed, and no development ever takes place.
“Siyawuthanda umbutho [we love the party], but it is failing us dismally,” she said.
Mbalula admitted that factionalism was weakening the party.
“As the party governing, we need to respond to the outcry of our people. They need to see change. The issues that need to be attended to are a reflection on us in relation to the people.
“Factions are the handicap of the ANC and those are having an impact on society as a whole.
“We need to continue to rekindle the faith lost, by addressing issues faced by the communities we serve and undermine the divisions in our organisation,” he said.
Addressing about 200 people at the Amalinda Stadium in East London yesterday, Mbalula, who backed Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in her failed bid for the ANC presidency last month, apologised for “all the party’s wrongs” and promised that they were working on correcting them and restoring people’s faith in the governing party.
With President Jacob Zuma no longer the party leader, opposition parties would struggle to campaign, he said.
“Msholozi [Zuma’s clan name] has stepped down, Cyril [Ramaphosa] has taken over.
“ANC haters are no longer going to have anything to say about the ANC because Zuma was their manifesto,” he said.
Speaking to party members and supporters in Mdantsane on Saturday, Losi said NEC members had indeed been dispatched to come and connect with the masses .
She also acknowledged that the party needed to account for its actions that had led to the public losing faith in the organisation.
“As we celebrate our 106th year, we want an ANC that is anti-corruption and anti-favouritism. We want to invoke, once more, confidence in the people we’re leading.
“The ANC has endorsed the rulings on free education and land expropriation, and we want the masses to go hear what president Cyril Ramaphosa has to say on Saturday,” said the Cosatu second deputy president.
ANC national and provincial leaders were also busy handing out pamphlets and doing door-to-door campaigning for Saturday’s rally.
The streets of Mdantsane NU1 were a hub of festivity on Saturday morning as Gigaba, Pandor and Losi conducted door-to-door visits, handing out pamphlets and inviting community members to be part of the annual ‘January 8’ celebration.
The reaction there was mixed. Some residents excitedly joined the parade, while others remained indifferent to the presence of ANC leaders in their neighbourhoods.
Resident Zoliswa Ngantweni said they hoped the NEC’s visit would fast-track service delivery.
“We are happy to see them here for the first time, since we’re always seeing them on TV. We are followers of the ANC, but we want them to meet our needs. We’ve been rallying behind them for a long time,” she said.
Pandor said: “It’s an annual tradition of the ANC that ahead of the January 8 rally, we mobilise in the province our celebration will be held at. We’ve spread ourselves across the province as the NEC members to rally our communities to support the celebration on Saturday.” —