WATCH | ‘Defend the ANC’: Nxumalo calls for all-out campaign | The Witness

ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial coordinator James Nxumalo has called on party members to “defend the ANC” at the November Local Government Elections, warning that hundreds of political parties were seeking to remove it from power.

Nxumalo made the call at the ANC Moses Mabhida region’s manifesto launch at the Pietermaritzburg City Hall on Saturday, where he acknowledged that the upcoming elections would be different from previous contests.

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“In these elections we have more than 600 political parties – all of which have a single objective – to remove the ANC from power.

In the past few weeks ANC members were contesting to be councillor candidates. But that was an internal contest.

“What we are facing now are the real enemies of the ANC and what our organisation stands for. Unlike the ANC, which since its formation in 2012 has been fighting to ensure a better life for people, what some of these parties want to do once elected to power is to loot,” he said.

Nxumalo urged members to put internal contests behind them and campaign aggressively ahead of the polls.

“If there has ever been a time to defend the ANC with all our energies, this is the time. Defending the ANC does not only mean pitching up at meetings, it means we must all go out and campaign for the ANC,” he said.

The ANC heads into the elections under pressure over service delivery in municipalities it governs, with poor infrastructure and disruptions to water and electricity among complaints raised by residents.

Outlining the party’s manifesto, which was officially launched by President Cyril Ramaphosa a week ago, Nxumalo said greater accountability would be demanded from ANC councillors and office bearers after the elections.

“They will be greater accountability. Gone are the days when after being deployed, an ANC councillor and office bearer simply vanishes from the community which elected them,” he said.

“ANC office bearers and councillors will have to demonstrate that they are holding regular meetings with the community.”

We can’t have a situation where the streets of our cities and towns are filthy, with potholes all over the road. This manifesto puts the residents first.

The regional launch came a few days after the ANC national executive committee ratified its councillor candidate lists submitted through party branches, regions and provinces.

The nomination process had been accompanied by complaints from some members that party procedures had not been followed.

ANC Moses Mabhida region activist Mncedisi Mthethwa, who is also secretary-general of the party’s MK Liberation War Veterans, said the NEC’s ratification of the candidates meant members should now turn their attention to the election campaign.

“What this means is that each and every ANC member can now focus on the important work of campaigning,” he said.

The Moses Mabhida regional launch precedes the ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial manifesto launch in Durban on Sunday.