ANC STATEMENT ON VIOLENCE DURING THE RUSTENBURG SITTING
19 August 2016
The African National Congress condemns the violence seen during the Rustenburg Council's sitting this morning, 19 August 2016. This kind of violent behaviour is totally unacceptable and it has no place in a constitutional democracy. The council chambers are instruments of democracy that were created to facilitate the provision of infrastructure, services and support to the people of South Africa. This barbaric act, masked as revolutionarism, seeks to derail our transformation agenda, and we reject it with the contempt it deserves.
While we appreciate the unprecedented excitement about local government elections, we appeal for decorum from all political parties so that at the end of the day, democracy is the winner. Our message serves to remind political leaders of their profound responsibility to act with the sole objective to defuse violence.
The ANC as the leader of society, has a zero-tolerance attitude towards any of our members who are involved in any acts of violence. We will therefore ask the council to institute criminal charges against the perpetrators of this violence, including any of our members.
Today's incident shows the intensity of hatred by the opposition coalition towards the ANC, and we ask our members and supporters to remain disciplined. These coalitions are not based on any common ideology, nor are they based on a desire to serve the interest of our people. It is for that reason that we will continue to engage all parties where there are possibilities for co-operation. In the next week, as the ANC we will issue an update on the status of Coalitions.
We invite our members and supporters to channel all energies towards serving in the 162 municipalities where we have a mandate to govern. Where we are in opposition, we will oppose effectively and fight for the interests of our constituency.
The ANC leaders will be visiting all provinces as part of the induction of councillors. We will use this opportunity to reaffirm our commitment in the ANC manifesto, to continue to improve our people's lives. Our focus will be on the training and mentorship programs to empower our councillors to deliver the highest quality of services. We will ensure that our councillors understand that their responsibility is to serve their communities with dignity.
Working together to advance the people's power!
Statement issued by Zizi Kodwa, ANC National Spokesperson, 19 August 2016
