Moves to tarnish Zandile Gumede’s image are ‘fabrications’

THE entire ANC provincial executive committee has noted with grave concern the grossly inaccurate and deceptive article carried by the Sunday Tribune last Sunday titled “Will Zandile Gumede survive?”

What is annoying is the fact that deceitful allegations were published after I had made it categorically clear to the reporter that what he presented to me as facts when he approached for a comment, was in fact devoid of the truth.

This leaves us with questions as to what the real motive was behind the crafting of the article.

Your unacceptably incorrect and misleading article has the potential to have far-reaching implications.

This includes sowing divisions among ANC leaders and creating instability in the ethekwini Municipality, which will have a negative impact on service delivery and deal a massive blow to investor confidence.

SIHLE ZIKALALA ANC KZN chairperson

I REFER to the article “Will Zandile Gumede survive?” (Sunday Tribune, April 23)

The story published by the Sunday Tribune is yet another fabrication aimed at preventing her from doing her work.

Reading the content of the story against the headlines and street pole posts, I couldn’t find substance or evidence on the purported divisions.

Even after using my cheap reading glasses, I couldn’t understand why the story made it into the newspaper.

It became one of the stories that seeks to isolate the mayor and the chairperson of the region from the collective leadership of the ANC in the province and the region.

This is another failed attempt to project the mayor as a person who is constantly in conflict with everyone who is around her such as the deputy mayor, Fawzia Peer, ANC regional secretary, Bheki Ntuli, and provincial chairperson, Sihle Zikalala.

We should be cognisant that this is the year of elective conferences and peddlers of misinformation are heavily sponsored to mislead the public by fabricating stories.

This is not the first, nor will it be the last, story to be published by the faceless cowards who are tarnishing her image, including abusing social media to spread lies about Mayor Gumede.

The enemies of the people’s revolution want us divided. They understand that if there are divisions in the ethekwini region, the biggest in the ANC, the ANC will become weaker.

We are one of the biggest municipalities which the ANC won with a clear majority.

The internal and external forces that are eager to recolonise us are waiting for every opportunity to pounce.

Their first point of attack will be the mayor and chairperson of the region.

As they say, “strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter”. To their surprise, they will find her working closely with the entire collective that was duly elected by the council and the movement.

The fact remains that Gumede’s relationship with Peer, Zikalala and Ntuli is solid, healthy and unshakable.

The suggestion that the mayor is refusing to take instructions on implementation of radical economic transformation is unfounded.

MTHUNZI GUMEDE ethekwini mayoral spokesman