The jostling for positions at municipal level is one of the main causes of the upsurge in political violence gripping KwaZulu-Natal.
This is the view of social scientist Professor Paulus Zulu, who told the Moerane Commission currently sitting in Durban, that imposing a set of qualifications for public office may minimise violence.
“Positions, money and the opportunity to leapfrog from where you are, are some of the main causes,” said Zulu.
He said currently it is easy for people to be elected councillors, as there are no prescribed requirements for such positions, adding that most councillors are people who would not be employable elsewhere.
“For people to get positions, all they have to do is shout the loudest, sing and dance the most.”
He said to correct this, the whole municipal council system will have to be revamped.
Zulu added that the “moral qualifications are also questionable” as there are people who occupy public office despite having criminal records. He cited politicians implicated in the Travelgate scandal as an example.
Zulu has studied political violence in KwaZulu-Natal since the 1980s and has published extensive research on the subject.
He said unlike the violence of the 1980s, the current violence is more selective as it is targeted at leadership.
“My contention is that there seems to be a culture of eliminating the competitor instead of outperforming them. It is also the same in taxi violence”.
Competition was rife in local government mainly because there were more positions available there than in the national and provincial legislatures, he added.
Zulu's comments come as there has been an upsurge in the killing of councillors and municipal officials in towns such as Umzimkhulu and Richmond. Last week, three ANC councillors in Umzimkhulu survived an assassination attempt after gunmen opened fire on them.
On Monday, the commission heard from community activist Vanessa Burger that most of the suspects involved in political assassinations are based at the Glebelands hostel.
The commission, chaired by advocate Marumo Moerane, is investigating the causes of all politically-related killings recorded in KwaZulu-Natal since 2011.
Inkosi Phathisizwe Chiliza, chairperson of the provincial House of Traditional Leaders, also testified at the commission saying traditional leaders were deeply concerned by the killings. Chiliza said the current killings were linked to the violence of the 1980s and the early 1990s.
“What we need now is to have a cleansing ceremony, which will involve all political parties”. He said such a process should be led by King Goodwill Zwelithini and should involve traditional leaders in the province.
He said the king and traditional leaders had been very instrumental in ending faction fighting in the province and the same could be achieved with political violence.
Contacted for comment yesterday, Peter Munns, chairperson of the Christian Coalition, said what was needed to solve the political violence was a peace accord.