The Congress of the People (COPE) held a meeting at their KwaDukuza branch office on Friday, 6 May 2011. COPE MP in KZN Graham MacKenzie, the keynote speaker, addressed Ward candidates and members alike.
“You cannot be standing for election if you don’t go door to door and knowing the local issues at hand. If you can win a couple of seats we can be noisy about fixing problems. We are not going to be nice people. Look at what is happening across the country with all the protests and marching,” said MacKenzie.
He had made reference to the incident at Ficksberg where a protester, Andries Tatane, was killed.
MacKenzie aimed to make the COPE followers aware that their party spoke with one voice with regard to the local elections.
“COPE is not a party that has two tongues and two voices. We aim to bridge the divide among COPE members caught in the leadership struggle. Nobody can say COPE has done nothing because this is our first local election,” said an assured MacKenzie.
Corruption was taken seriously when MacKenzie said he would ask the state president himself to come to KwaDukuza to catch the perpetrators if COPE gains seats.
According to COPE’s Regional Organiser of the iLembe District, Vincent Phewa, 40 candidates will be contesting including Mr PC Ngiba who is their mayoral candidate for the iLembe region. Petros Mabusa will be contesting Wards one through six in the KwaDukuza region. COPE is expecting to retain seats in the Mandeni region and gain seats in the rural areas.
In keeping with gender equality, MacKenzie said that COPE listed a 50/ 50 candidate field.
Mr MacKenzie assured the Xpress Times that the leadership struggle within the party between Terror Lekota and Sam Shilowa would be resolved 16 May 2011 in court.
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