The local branch of the Congress of the People (Cope) denies that there are divisions in the party, blaming the media for "exaggerating the challenges the party is facing".
The local branch of the Congress of the People (Cope) denies that there are divisions in the party, blaming the media for "exaggerating the challenges the party is facing".
The Cope regional spokesperson in Cacadu, Dumi Zono accused some people with a political agenda of attempting to hurt Cope by saying that the party is suffering from a decline in membership and that there has been a leadership scuffle between the party’s top leaders. "The recent resignations of two senior leaders of the party in our province have added fuel to the fire," he conceded. "But we have to understand that people have joined the party voluntarily and therefore we have to respect their decisions."
He took a swipe at political analysts who have prematurely started writing the party’s orbituary by accusing them of being "handsomely rewarded" with material possessions for their role as "embedded opponents of our revolution".
He added that there are no divisions in the party’s Makana sub-region but admiited that there are challenges elsewhere which the party’s national leadership has acknowledged. "These present challenges will afford our party an opportunity to renew itself. Remember despite our short existence, the organisation has struck the imagination of many. This is why there is a renewed wave of public discourse about our relevance."
He also said that the party’s founding vision of a united South Africa did not disappear with the election campaign. Contrary to his assertion that one of the party’s regional leaders Landiwe Mantla was still a Cope member, the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) announced this week that the ANC has welcomed Mantla back into the fold. During the memorial service of the murdered ANCYL regional secretary Oscar Dondashe in Noluthando Hall on Tuesday, regional chairperson Scara Njadayi singled out Mantla as an example of a prodigal daughter who had found her way home to the ruling party.
Zono cited Cope’s deputy president Mbhazima Shilowa’s warning to Cope members that they should not join the party because it was "fashionable to do so". "He emphasised that people should join and support Cope because they truly want to contribute to the advancement of the agenda of a strong alternative political party in the country to challenge one-party dominance and therefore abuse of power," he said.
Zono said that the party’s national conference will be held next year which will be preceded by the regional conference which will be taking place soon.
"As the Makana Cope sub-region we have to ensure that Cope branches in all the wards are established, going forward we have to build Cope towards the 2011 local elections and beyond 2014," he said.
Meanwhile, Rhodes University-based political analyst Peter Vale says that the divisions in Cope are the cause of the turbulence which is rocking the Cope ship."Clearly, there are divisions among the party’s leaders [president]Mosiua Lekota and [his deputy]Mbhazima Shilowa," he noted.
He said the turbulence is fuelled by the impression that the party’s leader in parliament, Mvume Dandala is not an appropriate leader for the party as they have lost their voice in parliament. Responding to the question of why ANC splinter groups have failed to sustain their support base, Vale said that the fact that the ruling party is still viewed by most South Africans as a national liberation movement has ensured continued support even after it has been in power for 15 years.
Secondly, he argued, the fact that the ANC is associated with a world icon, Nobel Peace laureate Nelson Mandela, gives voters the assurance that the party is worthy of their votes. He added that because the ANC is in government, the party can manipulate state resources to attract people such as giving people jobs in government as incentives for supporting it.
