By Caiphus Kgosana and Sibusiso Ngalwa
COPE suffered a double blow on Tuesday when two of its leaders - Lynda Odendaal and Simon Grindrod - resigned, with the latter accusing some party leaders of "ANC intolerance" and of idolising Thabo Mbeki.
Odendaal, until Tuesday the party's second deputy president, dropped the first bombshell, and the Cape Times later obtained a hard-hitting resignation letter from Grindrod, the party's former elections head.
Odendaal confirmed to the Cape Times that she had quit the troubled party.
"I've resigned from COPE. I've decided to move on and serve the people in another vehicle. I'm not moving out of politics, I'm going to take stock of the current political landscape and then take it from there," she said.
Continues Below ↓
However, she refused to give reasons for her departure, except to say that she will hold a press conference later this week to answer questions about her departure from COPE.
She didn't rule out the possibility of joining another political party.
"The doors are always open I'm sure. It's not necessarily that I'll be joining another party; there are many options," she said, adding that she had also resigned as an MP.
Grindrod said former ANC members were controlling COPE, to the exclusion of those who joined from other backgrounds.
"It now appears that COPE was, in the light of recent events, little more than an alternative vehicle for the entrenchment of key individuals who now seek to further what are ANC policies and processes by any other name," he said.
Grindrod's memo in June warned against the collapse of COPE due to infighting.
It was also leaked to the Cape Times.
He said there was no leadership effort to address COPE's problems.
"I am no longer confident that (the) leadership is either accountable or representative of the true needs and wishes of members," he said.
Grindrod is a former deputy leader of the Independent Democrats and served as a member of the mayoral committee in Cape Town. He dumped the ID in November last year to join COPE.
He blasted some senior COPE leaders, saying they had sacrificed the party's founding principles of hope and change.
"COPE promised an 'agenda of hope and change for all South Africans'. It is becoming abundantly clear to me that 'hope' is in decline and there is no 'change' from ANC practices, and the only South Africans 'setting the agenda' are current and former ANC members to the exclusion of all others," he said.
He said former ANC members had abandoned the promise of a new party with their continued idolisation of former president Thabo Mbeki.
"Continual references by COPE leaders to (Mbeki) appear out of place and confusing, given that he remains a committed member of the ANC."
He gave the example of the introduction of former Methodist Bishop Mvume Dandala as the party's presidential candidate, saying it had cost the party considerably at the polls.
"The decision was a monumental error which resulted in the services of this good and honest man being abused for narrow political interest," he said.
Grindrod said it was strange that, while COPE was spending R60 000 a month on its headquarters in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, the party's national organiser, head of policy and head of communications were occupying full-time positions in Parliament.
"How can party structures grow when the national head of organising is occupied full-time in Parliament?" he asked.
COPE spokesperson Philip Dexter, who confirmed both resignations, said they especially regretted Odendaal's sudden decision to leave.
"She has made a considerable contribution to COPE from its inception. COPE trusts that Ms Odendaal will continue to make a positive contribution to our country," he said.
COPE, whose performance at the elections was not as spectacular as was widely speculated, was formed by disgruntled ANC leaders and members.
However, it has recently been plagued by problems and leadership infighting.
- This article was originally published on page 1 of Cape Times on July 08, 2009
|
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Digg
Delicious
Newsvine
Facebook
muti
Twitter
