ANC Election campaigning silences the voice of Alex residents

8 April 2019

Today, following a protest to the City’s Region E offices in Sandton, the City Manager, Dr. Ndivhoniswani Lukhwareni, was prevented from accepting a memorandum of grievance from a gathering of #AlexTotalShutDown protesters, led by the ANC.

The ANC’s conduct today has again exhibited its electioneering tactics as the only motivation behind the protests – sacrificing the legitimate concerns of residents.

Indeed, last week, the MMC for Safety, Cllr Michael Sun, was prevented from not only receiving a memorandum from protesters but was also subjected to racial abuse.

ANC councillors leading that protest sought to incite the crowd into racially abusing the MMC. In their efforts to encourage the crowd into racially abusing MMC Sun, these so-called leaders went so far as to address their ANC followers by saying, “Look, a white man is here to address you.”

MMC Sun was then subsequently racially abused by the ANC’s members, led by their ward councillors, on the basis of his Chinese ancestry.

In a video, the jeering ANC members can clearly be heard screaming “No ching chong,” and “No Hong Kong” in an effort to strip Michael of his dignity and prevent him from addressing those members of the protest who wished to see the legitimate concerns of the community heard.

The City remains ready and willing to engage with the legitimate concerns of residents within Alexandra. I am ready to account to residents on the multiparty government’s performance over the last 2.5 years, I challenge the ANC government to come speak to its “successes” in Alexandra over the last 25 years.

In order to engage with the legitimate concerns of the people in Alexandra, I have already committed to engaging with residents at the schedule IDP meeting set for the 15th of April 2019.

In addition, I will be meeting this week with all of the Ward and Public Representative Councillors serving the people of Alexandra.  At this meeting, we will ensure that we discuss a shared approach to the meeting of the 15th of April 2019 as public representatives to avoid the kind of petty politics that has characterised the events of this past week.

Over and above this, I have written to President Ramaphosa after learning of his stated plans to visit Alexandra on Thursday 11 April 2019, and those of Premier Makhura on tomorrow.

Previously I responded to President Ramaphosa’s call to go to Alexandra by saying “name the time and the place Mr. President.” I did so because the people of Alexandra require the attention of National, Provincial and Local Government to account for 25 years of failure.

In my letter today, I have requested the President to avoid a party political approach to the situation in Alexandra that has characterised the protests to date. I have asked President Ramaphosa for Thursday’s visit to be an inter-governmental engagement with the people of Alexandra, with National, Provincial and Local Government.

This approach requires us, collectively, to listen to the grievances of Alexandra, and work together to design and deliver solutions. However, these plans need to be funded to depart from the past practices in which grandiose plans were never funded and never delivered.

The reality is that the lived experiences of the residents of Alexandra go far beyond the powers of local government, and well beyond the past 2.5 years.

I hope that President Ramaphosa will provide leadership that transcends the petty party political approach to date. The grievances of the people of Alexandra are not currently being heard through the political noise, and this is a tragedy.

I have asked President Ramaphosa to confirm to me, by tomorrow 9 April 2019, whether he is willing to accept my proposal.

The multi-party government in Johannesburg has dedicated itself to be responsive to the needs of the most vulnerable in our society. The situation in Alexandra requires this approach from all three spheres of government working together.

I hope all spheres of government can rise to the occasion as required by residents.

Issued by Luyanda Mfeka, Director: Mayoral Communications, Office of the Executive Mayor, 8 April 2019