‘White man’ stirs up protest

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‘White man’ stirs up protest
December 12, 2005

More than 100 Cato Manor residents staged a protest yesterday about the ANC’s candidate for Ward 30, saying they want a re-run of the nomination process. But the party’s response is that the protesters are being stirred up by a Durban “white man”.

ANC election co-ordinator Senzo Mchunu said yesterday in response to the Cato Manor protest, that complaints about municipal election candidates in the eThekwini municipal area are being instigated by one person who is not a member of the ANC.

The election co-ordinator was reacting to a protest by Cato Manor residents yesterday who claimed that they were members of the ANC Crisis Committee.

They claimed that the candidate for Ward 30 in Cato Manor was not properly elected.

Mandla Zulu, spokesman for the Crisis Committee, said they had protested because they were against the candidate who was nominated during a meeting which did not have a quorum.

Xulu and more than 100 protesters had gathered at the sports ground near Inkosi Albert Luthuli Hospital.

Mchunu said it had become easy for the “instigator” – who he declined to name – to win the hearts of the people who colluded with him as the local government elections had become contested terrain with more than five people contesting wards in some areas.

The alleged instigator was “printing t-shirts for people and hiring buses to ferry protesters. We have established that he is using a few power hungry people within our organisation to achieve his goals,” said Mchunu.

The Daily News has learnt that some ANC members in Cato Manor have been suspended for colluding with the alleged instigator.

When asked what the party was going to do with the alleged instigator, Mchunu said it was difficult to deal with a person who was not an ANC member.

“We are only going to deal with our members. We don’t want leaders who act against the constitution of the party.

Every member in the ANC knows that if he feels that there have been irregularities in the election process, certain procedures have to be followed when launching a complaint.

“You have to start at the regional level and, if you get no joy, go to the province and even to national level if you feel that your complaint is not receiving attention,” he said. – Daily News Reporter