If the ANC in Nelson Mandela Bay wants to reclaim complete control of the municipality, it must close the widening gap between its branch structures and leaders of the party.
This is according to ANC provincial treasurer and co-operative governance and traditional affairs MEC, Zolile Williams.
He said members of the ANC somewhat lacked appreciation of the status of the metro and its contribution to the struggle against apartheid. This was a big mistake, he said.
“That lack of appreciation is actually creating a plethora of own-goals for us as a movement because it results in a situation where we social distance between the structures and the leadership of the movement instead of closing it; it's actually expanding in unprecedented measures proportions,” he said.
Williams was speaking at the ANC Eastern Cape fundraising gala dinner held at the Boardwalk Convention Centre on Friday night ahead of the party's 2019 manifesto review to be held on Saturday.
The most expensive tables at the fundraiser sold for R250,000 a table or R25,000 for a seat at the platinum table.
Other options were the gold table which cost R150,000 or R15,000 per seat and the cheapest option, a silver table, came with a price tag of R50,000 or R5,000 a seat.
The event was attended by the likes of social development MEC Bukiwe Fanta, Mandela Bay Development Agency chair and businesswoman Glenda Perumal as well as some provincial and regional leaders.
ANC treasurer-general Gwen Ramakgopa gave the keynote address at the dinner and thanked the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nafcoc) for initiating the gala dinner.
Ramokgopa said the ANC did not lose control of the metro, it handed it over to other political parties.
“And now the people of SA are saying they want the renewal agenda that does not deal with the kind of leadership that undermines the legacy of the ANC,” she said.
“The people are awaiting for this renewal to be real. I'm encouraging all of us to be part of it.”
Addressing the audience, Williams said the people of the Bay needed the ANC to govern which is why ANC provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukaitobi visited the region every week.
“The vision by the provincial secretary to reside here every week with parliamentarians and provincial executive committee (PEC) deployees is to actually work hard on that. But our experience in the past few weeks in the region actually tells us a lot of work needs to be done before we can reclaim this city.”
He said their concern was that government garnered R47bn during an investment conference in June and two thirds of this amount was going to the Bay, but the ANC were not in control of the city.
“The people need the ANC to govern in Nelson Mandela Bay hence we need to deal with this gap and try to deal with our organisation which has been captured by criminal elements.”
He said meetings held with party branches revealed that members were frustrated.
They complained that they were unable to voice their concerns because if they did, people driving Toyota Avanzas would visit and terrorise them in their homes.
“The renewal of the ANC must find space for implementation and application in this region because it's painful that this area is still disorganised in terms of governance,” said Williams.
HeraldLIVE