Zuma to return to PE to quell political in-fighting

01 Feb 2016 | Admin Author

ANC president Jacob Zuma will soon return to Nelson Mandela Bay with the ANC's national officials to present solution for the political impasse in the Metro.

Zuma, accompanied by ANC deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe and other senior party officials spent several hours in the Metro yesterday to get first hand information on the political rivalry that has pitted former mayor Nceba Faku up against current mayor, Zanoxolo Wayile.

In a statement this afternoon, the ANC's provincial executive committee in the Eastern Cape said the sole mandate of the intervention was to arrest the situation politically by providing a permanent solution to the problems in Nelson Mandela Bay, which is also affecting the Metropolitan Municipality.

ANC provincial secertary, Lubablao Mabuyane, said "the officials took a decision to further examine the reports they received and revert to the province with proposed solutions," Mabuyane said.

"Their intervention, through these meetings follows a decision we took earlier when these upheavals surfaced, to instigate a political management process headed by Derek Hannekom, working closely with the PEC, NEC members deployed to the Eastern Cape and REC."

"We welcome the positive response by the President and we are confident that, working together with us, he will provide a permanent solution to the challenges facing the Metro. Part of the solution is to engage with the social partners in the Nelson Mandela Bay who also show interest and voiced their concerns about the current situation," he added.

Mabuyane said the intervention by the National Officials does not in any way suggest that the PEC is incapable of attending to these matters, "we requested their (National Officials) wisdom to help us as they are the leaders of the ANC."

"It remains the commitment of the ANC to ensure that stability is the order of the day in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, both in the region and in the Municipality so that the work of the movement continues unabated and without any interference," he said.

Mabuyane said "those deployed are instructed to continue with their work of building better communities by serving the people of the Metro with honesty, dignity and speed. Nothing less is expected from all our Comrades."

The ANC in the Eastern Cape has also appealed to "the people of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro not to be used by anyone who ventures into plunging the Metro into a chaotic situation. The people of the Metro must be part of efforts to develop the Metro and to ensure delivery of services to communities as part of building better communities."

"Furthermore, we appeal to all our members, structures and alliance partners to prioritise peace and stability in the Metro. We urge civil society and other social partners to allow the ANC space and time to resolve its internal leadership matters which spill over to society."

"We are encouraged by the efforts of Comrades Faku and Wayile to join hands in extinguishing tensions in the areas infested by violence," Mabuyane said.