Fixing Komani would guarantee votes
For obvious reasons, the leaders of the first democratically elected council correctly named the district centred in Komani the Chris Hani district; it was named after the late freedom fighter, stalwart, intellectual and socialist Thembisile Chris Hani, who was born in Cofimvaba, which is one of the local municipalities of the district.
Komani was the palpable choice for district axis. Komani harbours much of the district’s major economic activities; the city is at the midpoint of Eastern Cape’s road network, connecting the province’s traffic activities with neighbouring provinces.
It was de rigueur for the city to be the home of the entire constituency. It was ideally earmarked for future upgrading and growth to uphold the city’s status and Chris Hani’s legacy.
As an economic hub, the city remains on top regarding employment and populace; yet in the past 10 years it has been true to the term abating.
The worsening state of the city is owed to the notorious lack of institutional leadership, facilities’ mismanagement and budget misappropriation.
It will be ineffectual to shy away from the datum that political parties are recently run the mafia style and thus rogue consortia which tolerates superficial and shallow minds who do not possess any intellect [nor courage] to question the leadership; this is whereby the immaterial takes precedence over developmental priorities and institutional renewal/ reconstruction.
The almost non-existent electricity infrastructure, water crisis, vandalised government buildings and CBD potholes are suffice to the irrefutable truth.
The municipality council’s finance committee (MPAC) holds divine constitutional powers and privilege to seek funding to supplement any budget deficits; this is to commence the project of restoring the city’s image and status, yet the subject remains a ‘no-go-area’.
The city’s infrastructural demise is a fixable problem and can be anyone’s opportunity to prove themselves worthy of dominating the upcoming elections. In a politically evolved society with a new breed of independent and educated minds, election campaigns are no longer the outmoded branded party vehicles with loud and ancient freedom songs, and clueless hungry followers.
The pretence of giving away party T-shirts and groceries have long been figured out to be no less than an insult by voters.
So, fixing our town is not just the best campaign strategy, but the only available way out of obliteration. The ancient political home and church, the ANC, has been gradually trading away its divine status of the intellectual firm it used to be; whereby masses received fresh food for both mind and spirit.
This situation must be consciously compared to Ghana, where the liberation movement replaced leaders of integrity with arrogant and inaccessible faction loyalists whose sole aim was to gain access to state resources and invitations to exclusive plutocrat parties; now look at what befell the once mighty Ghana.
If this be the status quo, who is to assume the role of initiating city renewal projects? No one. Yet poor residents of vandalised Komani are urged by swollenbelly local aristocrats to register for elections.
Komani; cry the beloved city of milk and honey.