EFF gets hands dirty in battle to clean up and claim Durban

13 March 2024 - 14:49 By MFUNDO MKHIZE
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EFF members clean up parts of Overport in Durban as part of their Andries Tatane initiative to create awareness about the importance of clean communities.
EFF members clean up parts of Overport in Durban as part of their Andries Tatane initiative to create awareness about the importance of clean communities.
Image: Mfundo Mkhize

EFF provincial chairperson Mongezi Twala said the party has no confidence eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda can resolve service delivery challenges plaguing the city.

“We don't have any hope or confidence in ANC mayors and their leadership. But we gave them the ultimatum that they must reach out to society,” said Twala.

He was speaking during a clean-up campaign in Overport, Durban, where party members rolled up their sleeves to clean some of the streets piled with rubbish after a two-week strike by South African Municipal Workers' Union members.

The clean-up is part of the party's Andries Tatane initiative launched in memory of the activist killed by police in April 2011 in Free State during a service delivery protest to create awareness about the health and environmental effects of a clean community.

Twala said the mayor had twice postponed a briefing on the strike on Wednesday because of mounting pressure.

“We have been clear in saying these boardroom meetings will not assist the city residents. People need to know what the developments are,” said Twala.

It was time for Kaunda to attend to the grievances of striking workers calling for their salary grades to match their counterparts in other metros.

“He [Kaunda] must stop being pompous and resolve the issues to reach an amicable solution. Anywhere you go in South Africa the cost of living is high so the workers must be paid according to grades 10,” said Twala.

Asked what it would take to improve the dysfunctional Durban Solid Waste unit, Twala said: “The problem with the ANC is that corruption is institutionalised.”

The unit is also at the centre of corruption and fraud charges implicating Kaunda's predecessor, Zandile Gumede, who is on trial in the Durban high court.

He called on the public to be decisive and vote out the governing party.

“We need people who are going to serve society with diligence. We need an ethical leadership which is trustworthy,” said Twala.

TimesLIVE


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