Siphelele Nketo
IN the months leading up to the municipal polls, the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) has gained massive support in the Kokstad area. This followed the gathering last Sunday, July 5, in Kokstad where 430 new members joined MKP.
Some of the new members came from the African National Congress (ANC), claiming that the ANC in Kokstad no longer served the interests of the majority but a certain individual. Apparently, on June 21, MKP also welcomed new members from the ANC. The members were welcomed and given new MKP T-shirts outside a voting station in Horseshoe, Kokstad. They publicly removed ANC T-shirts, while receiving new T-shirts from the MKP. But Thoneka Mngomnyama, the ANC’s Kokstad sub-regional task team coordinator, said that the ANC is unshaken by these developments, saying that the party will emerge victorious during municipal polls.
“Some of the people that joined MKP from the ANC wanted to be councillors but were rejected during community meetings. Others are just trying their luck in MKP,” she said. Welcoming the new MKP members in an open space, next to a bridge in Bhongweni last Sunday, was secretary general of the MKP Sibonelo Nomvalo, along with provincial and regional leadership of the party. According to Nomvalo, the party has set a target of high-profile ANC members in the Harry Gwala region for recruitment to strengthen the party’s support ahead of local government elections on November 4.
He said underground meetings to persuade key people to join MKP are ongoing, and announcements will soon be made and new members will be welcomed.
“We are targeting those in key structures of the ANC to join the MKP. Engagements are at an advanced stage to welcome another group of new members,” Nomvalo said.
In speaking about the new members that joined MKP, Nomvalo said their responsibility is to grow and strengthen the organisation at a branch level.
Meanwhile, in some wards in Kokstad, councillor candidates that will contest during elections for MKP have been announced. Nomvalo said the process is going at a smooth pace to facilitate the election of councillor candidates in other wards. He mentioned that the process starts from a voting district to a level of a community meeting.
He encouraged local leaders of the MKP to facilitate the process in a fair manner where communities are involved.
“We don’t want councillors to be imposed on people,” he said. One of the announced councillor candidates in Ward 9 was Athi Doko who recently joined the MKP from the ANC.
