Keep calm in KZN: Mchunu
CALM down. That was the message from Kwazulu-natal Premier Willies Mchunu amid brewing tensions sparked by EFF leader Julius Malema’s comments that Indians in the province were ill-treating Africans and paying them with food parcels.
He said this during his party’s fourth anniversary celebrations held at Durban’s Curries Fountain Stadium.
Mchunu urged the people of KZN to join hands and “showcase the rich tapestry of our multi-racial, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural composition”.
“We might come from different backgrounds, but there is a need to forge unity and a sense of a common destiny for all,” said Mchunu.
Some of the current challenges, including inequality, were the aftermath of the apartheid government’s segregation policies, Mchunu explained.
This, he said, had resulted in many people living in squalor and abject poverty.
Mchunu said the government was intensifying the radical economic transformation programme to ensure that doors to the mainstream economy were open for people from previously disadvantaged communities.
Groups like Injeje yamanguni, Mazibuye African forum and most recently Delangokubona have been blaming the provincial government for favouring Indian businesses over theirs.
“Importantly, a few months ago, KZN hosted a social cohesion summit. This was convened to unite and rebuild the souls of our people and inculcate the best of human values,” said Mchunu.
The summit was attended by ordinary members of society, NGOS, academics and other stakeholders.
It was resolved at that gathering, Mchunu said, that an integrated social cohesion programme be rolled-out across all municipalities in Kwazulu-natal.
And while the debate was raging about whether Indians were ill-treating Africans, Mchunu said: “We need to remind the people of this province that we are equals and that we need to accept all the sides of our history as our common heritage.
“But we now have to bury those past differences, hostility, prejudice, fear and embrace a spirit of mutual respect and accept that we now constitute a unique nation. We are a nation of diverse people derived from many ethnic groups and nationalities, cultures, religions, faiths, languages and we must respect each other’s heroes.”
Speaking during the opening of the legislature earlier this year, Zulu king Goodwill Zwelithini said: “I am saying, ease up on fancy functions which are said to be about reconciling people. Just go straight to the affected people in their communities on the ground.
“If there are problems between Africans and Indians, develop programmes where we can go to Phoenix, Inanda, Kwamashu or Chatsworth.”
Approached for comment, Thulani Zulu, spokesperson of the Royal Household, said King Zwelithini wouldn’t like to comment on a political issue but said that the Royal Household had a string of social cohesion programmes.
The Active Citizens Movement (ACM) said it was time for unity. The ACM, which was finalising a programme of action in promoting mutual respect and co-operation between all groups in KZN, said Malema’s comments were irresponsible and unbefitting a leader of a political party.
ACM spokesperson Yashica Padia said: “The time for unity has never been as important and urgent as it is now in order to meet the current crisis in government. We expected more from Malema than to turn one group against another.”
Padia said the problem was not any specific group but the relationships and the misinformation. “When he (Malema) challenges exploitation, corruption, marginalisation and violence in ways that build unity we will support him and other leaders wholeheartedly.
“Our approach is to build understanding and unity across our different communities while jointly tackling the fault lines of the inequality that is the legacy of apartheid,” said Padia.
Like Mchunu, Padia believed some of the current challenges were inherited from the apartheid government.
“Promoting social cohesion is a task that will never be complete. We need, from leaders in all sectors, a critical view of how divisions have been entrenched and perpetuated.
“We need from leaders a commitment that demonstrates to followers how we can challenge injustice, corruption and negativity without using the patterns of division to make our case,” said Padia.