Durban - The SACP in KwaZulu-Natal want to meet the ANC to prevent the possible return of Jesus Christ in the next eThekwini municipal elections.
“We want to sit down with the ANC to debate about eThekwini, whether we are doing enough to prevent eThekwini following Tshwane and other metros. It is a meeting that must take place,” provincial secretary, Themba Mthembu, said, referring to the possible loss of the Durban metro to the opposition.
Mthembu made the statement at a media briefing after the SACP concluded a three-day provincial general council.
He said eThekwini had not been given the prestige it deserved, and compared it with other cities.
Asked if the landing of Jesus Christ in Durban was for real or a possible threat, Mthembu said: “Most of our people believe in Jesus, but are not yet ready to receive Him in Durban.”
The landing of Jesus Christ is used to mock the ANC after it lost the metros to the DA, despite some of its leaders previously maintaining that the ruling party would rule until the return of the Messiah.
According to Mthembu, they had seen the DA moving from Cape Town to take control of Nelson Mandela Metro in Port Elizabeth, and the country’s economic hub in Gauteng.
“We must not sit down and fold our hands. We definitely would like to prevent Jesus from landing in Durban,” he said.
Mthembu also said the ascendancy of the DA in the metros was a calamity, and needed to be arrested.
“If the ascendancy is not challenged, it is not unrealistic to assume that the DA will entrench itself and use this ascendancy as a springboard to win the province of Gauteng, with eThekwini as the next possible victim,” he said.
But Mthembu said while the ANC did not suffer a decline in the province during the elections, it could have done better if problems raised with councillor candidate selection had been addressed.
Mthembu also said important lessons had been learnt in the election, and that people should not be taken for granted.
“One of the lessons is that liberation history and track record alone is not an inherent right to be in power, but the continued stay in power should be earned through service delivery, service excellence, humbleness to the people and morally upright leadership that is averse to corruption and other social deviations.”
Mthembu also said the general council had agreed on the drafting of a position paper by the alliance secretariat and immediate convening of the alliance to map a programme to revitalise the ANC and its partners, among other things.
He also said the council expressed dissatisfaction at the slow pace in attending to political killings, especially in Inchanga.
“It has a potential to spark similar conduct in other areas where there could be simmering tensions,” Mthembu said.
The Mercury