Siphelele Nketo 

NEW members of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party publicly joined a gathering outside a voting station in Horseshoe, Kokstad, on Sunday, June 21. The members were previously from the African National Congress (ANC).

They were spotted removing their ANC T-shirts and wearing new MK Party T-shirts while the crowd of MK Party members looked on.

Welcoming the new members was MK Party secretary general Sibonelo Nomvalo who also encouraged the local community to register to vote and participate in the upcoming municipal polls on November 4. Athi Doko and Luvuyo Nongimba, the former ANC members, were among the new members that joined the MK Party outside a community hall used as a voter registration station as part of the IEC voter registration drive.

Nomvalo encouraged communities eligible to vote to register and participate during municipal elections.

He told the gathering how the MK Party will make a difference in communities, citing lack of service delivery and the high cost of living as the most common problems faced by members of the public.

He added that a lack of employment in South Africa was another problem that needed to be addressed. He slammed the current government, saying that there were not enough strategies to end hunger.

“The current government is not strategic enough to implement policies that will defeat poverty and inequality and resolve unemployment,” he said, adding that the most problems are in municipalities. He made an example of greediness, saying that tenders are given to friends. 

“Local municipalities need to develop people through opportunities for youths, women and people living with disabilities,” he added.

He further criticised the purchasing of electricity and water by pensioners, saying that the MK Party will address that.

In speaking about low voter turnout during elections, he said the party will do all it could to overcome this by strengthening campaigns. He said the low voter turnout was caused by lack of confidence in the electoral system.