ANC blasts UDF plan
The ANC's Western Cape secretary, Songezo Mjongile, has labelled plans to relaunch the United Democratic Front as an "attention-seeking publicity stunt".
But Mario Wanza, a community activist and former youth leader in Cape Town, insists he is relaunching the UDF because the ANC has abandoned its Freedom Charter.
"We have not realised the Freedom Charter ... the struggle itself is not owned by one particular organisation, it is a broad front," said Wanza.
But his plans to relaunch the UDF - a front for the ANC established in Mitchells Plain in 1983 - has rankled some in the ruling party. Some of the party's original founding members - Trevor Manuel, Nomaindia Mfeketo and Jeremy Cronin - blasted the relaunch as "opportunistic".
But Wanza said the ruling party has lost touch with ordinary people.
"The only way to get the ANC to focus on accountability is that it must feel the power of the people on the ground ... that is what we're about," said Wanza.
He was kicked out of the ANC last year after he stood in the local government elections as an independent candidate.
Mjongile said: "You can't speak about the UDF out of context and its historic role in terms of the ability to bring together various groups into the congress tradition ... the first thing they had to do was adopt the Freedom Charter as a guide and accept the political leadership of the ANC."
He said the bid to relaunch the UDF would be akin to someone who wanted to relaunch uMkhonto weSizwe without considering its historical context.
"From where we sit we believe that Mario is just a political opportunist who stood against the ANC as an independent."
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Posted 273 days agoThere were people in the UDF who supported a varied selection of other organisations and there were people in the UDF who were only affiliated to the UDF.
As the old joke went - they aren't unified and they aren't democratic but they are a front.
Les4uu
Posted 273 days agoMicaParis
Posted 273 days agoWhat does he think!? What is going to happen once he has ''keys to control'' the tenders!? There will be no time to touch base with anybody on the ground, he will be flying all over the world fantasizing like every leader is doing in the world not only in South Africa!
Re - launching a party just because you were expelled form ANC in order to come back and merge with DA so that you can get back at ANC is not only unpatriotic to the nation but also an abuse of political rights and individual opportunistic behavior for the sole reason of self enrichment just to access the gravy train again, you are a shame to our nation who really need help!
UDFSupporter
What you seem to overlook, is that the UDF was able to create space for everyone from diverse backgrounds to topple the enemy. Wheteher you like it or not, the ANC has become the enemy of the people of South Africa.
We did not struggle so that workers can simply take up arms and kill those who do not agree with their viewpoints. We did not struggle so that we can behave like savages with impunity. We did not struggle for ANC fatcats to steal the country blind. We did not struggle so that each connected family member and crony of an ANC politician can have access to wasteful and fraudulent tenders.
We do not have a shortage of cash to reduce poverty, improve education and health or create employment. But we certainly have an ANC regime filled to the brim with incompetent and corrupt "leaders" and ministers. They know that if this country was run by qualified, experienced personnel who understand that accountability and performance target outcomes should determine reward, their friends will never find employment.
QPCLCD308
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Very true UDFSupporter, but what Mica is trying to drive home is an issue of abuse of political rights to gain opportunistic control, the question is ''Will comrades Wanza not desert the poor people after he had become rich like 'others' who had been making noise before his remix tune''?
I agree with Mica, Wanza just like the ANC fat cats cannot be trusted, If I may ask, Why should we trust Wanza to be our messiah whilst his history suggest failure and corrupt behavior since he comes from the ANC! We do not want another mouth to feed like ID in the DA we are tired of opportunists who cannot hold their ground, the next thing he will be coming to us (DA) to seek a political refugee in a form of joint venture so that he can benefit from fat posts just like Patricia De Lille, that is unnecessary and opportunistic and hunger driven, he is just hungry!
Romy
m1si2zi3nzo4
Posted 273 days agonkosipeter
rahima
Posted 273 days ago