Marchers threat to boycott election
Marchers threat to boycott election
March 22 2011
By Jauhara Khan
INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS
Several organisations used Human Rights Day to voice their dissatisfaction with the eThekwini municipality, accusing it of violating human rights by failing to deliver services to needy communities.
Hundreds of the organisations’ supporters marched to the Durban city hall yesterday, with some threatening to boycott the local government election on May 18.
Representatives and supporters of Right2Know, shack dwellers’ organisation Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement SA, the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance, ratepayers’ associations, the Durban Social Forum and KZN Subsistence Fishermen were among the marchers.
They had hoped to hand over a memorandum of demands, which included access to employment, housing development, basic services and transparent, publicly accountable governance in the wake of recent allegations of corruption, fraud and maladministration in the municipality. However, no one from the municipality arrived to receive it.
Clairwood Ratepayers’ Association secretary Mervyn Reddy said Clairwood had a strong cultural and historical heritage, which would be lost through the city’s neglect of the area. “Clairwood has struggled with service delivery for the past 60 years. Industries, scrapyards and illegal businesses are taking over the residential zone. The city council is aware of this but is doing nothing.
“We are marching today to take Clairwood back and restore it to its former glory. The people will not support any political parties; we will not vote,” he said.
Vanessa Black, spokeswoman of Environmental organisation Earthlife Africa, said: “The city is interested in hosting big events like the Olympics, but all at the expense of the poor. We window- dress and put on a show, but none of the money benefits the people, the ones who need it most, as we saw with the World Cup. We are saying they need to be accountable to the people of this city.”
Right2Know co-ordinator Quinton Kippen said the no-show from the city at the march was “cowardly”.
“We invited Mayor Obed Mlaba, Premier Zweli Mkhize and municipal manager Mike Sutcliffe to receive our memorandum, and while they said someone would come (to take the memorandum), no one did. This shows they will not do anything about our demands. They have their own agenda that does not include the people on the ground. We will be out picketing again tomorrow morning (today),” he said.
Municipal spokesman Thabo Mofokeng said Sutcliffe and Mlaba had indicated that they would not be available to receive the memorandum, and no prior arrangement had been made by them to fetch it.
The premier was in Nquthu yesterday for a Human Rights Day event. – The Mercury
