Sunday 15 July 2012 uMlazi Ward 88 Community meeting
by China Ngubane, DLF
Bandile Mdlalose of AbM welcomed near three hundred community members including ANC Branch leadership at the People’s Office near the Councillors’ Office. The community was reminded about the derivations and atrocities experienced since the protests started. Bandile restated demands of the community that includes poverty, unemployment, housing, evictions, water, land, electricity, human rights and disservice by Nomzamo Mkhize, Willies Mchunu, Nigel Gumede and government in failing to address popular demands.
Despite death threats and attacks by the local hit-squad, the community daringly expressed their demands including that Nomazmo must go.According to the community numerous attempts were made to meet with her in vain. She is disrespectful and people are asked to produce ANC membership cards to get assistance. Nomzamo was not elected by the people but she got into office through the back-door. Party politics and labelling people and individualism is not the way, we are the community, the marginalised, the exploited and the 99%. Politicians are not legitimate to the masses for they are not working for the people.
For the past seven days of occupation we have seen many people returning back without getting help from the Councillor’s Office. We’ve occupied next to her office because we reckoned that she needs flight funds to come to the people and that Nomzamo have no desire to listen to us. We are frustrated since even if we ask kindly the response is brutal. We are not fighting with Nomzamo but the system (capitalism) in which she operates. We are staggered that government urgencies attack us physically, politicians send biased public servants to shoot with bullets where the matter should be engaging with the public.
Bongani Manzini affirmed that he was threatened, he is being hunted for and the hit squad gunned his house. They went further to shoot a his tenant Noxolo Mkaye, and lately they shot another community member who is still in the hospital.
A question was posed whether anyone was ever assisted by Nomzamo since inception and if anyone at the meeting had an opposing view from that of the community.
The unanimous response was no. People added that instead of seeing Nomzamo in the office we see a posse of people smocking Dagga every day in her Office. Nomzamo is a Councillor for a few individuals but not for us all. We are here because we want to consult with her, we are here till our concerns are resolved and we are not going anywhere. Tomorrow we are going to close Nomzamo’s Office and we will open the People’s Office.
People continued to speak; we want uMlazi to be ungovernable, we can’t bear with this, we are abandoned. A community member who is a recipient of the four roomed RDP houses disgruntled in displeasure over long awaited hence forgotten refurbishment of houses and poor service delivery maintained that Nomzamo repaired her house in uMlazi using corrupted tax payer’s money and that she owns a house in Clairwood and eSpingo.
People proposed that the Councillors’ Office shall be closed and a new People’s Office will be opened. More people, unions, social movements and analogous struggles in UMlazi, around Durban and abroad will be mobilised to increase pressure on government to advance people’s interests. People should be united, speak in one voice and struggles should not be alienated by politicians. We are not ANC, IFP, BCP, DA, etc. but we are the society and the electorate and all we need is development. We demand the old Airport space and the space should be used to build houses for the poor. People articulated that they will build new shacks next to the Councillor’s Office since they have no houses. The meeting proposed for by-elections to oust Nomzamo and yield a people-centred Ward 88 Councillor.
After the discussion the meeting decided to march around the area to revive the spirit. Before the meeting bolted there were emerging news that a community member, Thabile Ngcobo wearing a FAWU (Food and Allied Workers Union) t/shirt was attacked and assaulted by Nomzamo, her son and two men for attending what Nomzamo called “an absurd meeting”. This happened in Solomon Mahlangu Street, the street shared by both the Nomzamo and the victim when Thabile was returning home from the community meeting.
Thabile says she was smacked several times at the face by Nomzamo’s son who under the instruction of Nomzamo took a blade and rip-off Thabile’s FAWU t/shirt from the neck to bottom. Nomzamo ordered her gang to take Thabile photos so that she will deal with her. Nomzamo was pulling and pushing Thabile and calling her names. Thabile upholds that they took her t/shirt and she was cautioned never to attend such meetings.
With the succour of the community Thabile opened a case against Nomzamo at section GG uMlazi Police Station at the same time. It is believed that no one was arrested till now.
Correction: The t-shirt was a Farm Worker’s Union shirt and not a Food & Allied Worker’s Union shirt.