Non-racialism under threat in Cape - ANC

Cape Town - 131126 - ANC Press Conference on BBEEE at the Sahara House offices in St. Georges Mall. Pictured: Songezo Mjongile. REPORTER: WARDA MEYER. PICTURE: WILLEM LAW.

Cape Town - 131126 - ANC Press Conference on BBEEE at the Sahara House offices in St. Georges Mall. Pictured: Songezo Mjongile. REPORTER: WARDA MEYER. PICTURE: WILLEM LAW.

Published Sep 11, 2014

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Cape Town - The ANC leadership in the Western Cape has warned that non-racialism is under threat in the province, with branches picking up a sharp increase in tension between coloured and black communities.

During a meeting of the party’s provincial executive committee, branch structures reported a rise in tensions and competitive behaviour among the poor.

“This is an assessment of what our structures are telling us.

Branch leaders expressed concern that the project of non-racialism is under serious threat and that issues of housing, sanitation and basic services are at the root of dividing communities,” ANC provincial secretary Songezo Mjongile said.

The party blames the tension on instability in the province’s housing sector and says the DA is polarising development, which it says leads people to turn against one another.

“There’s no long-term strategy from the province or the City of Cape Town on how to absorb and address urbanisation, population growth and creating non-racial communities,” said Mjongile.

This was denied by Human Settlements MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela.

The provincial executive committee conceded ANC members were not immune to racial intolerance and decided to tackle the issue aggressively.

Mjongile said the party would start creating more platforms for ANC members across the racial divide to engage with each other, while simultaneously encouraging communities to speak openly about racism.

The party would expose members to each other’s cultures and encourage greater interaction among branches.

“We must get Xhosa-speaking comrades to learn Afrikaans and get Afrikaans-speaking comrades to learn Xhosa. It’s a practical step of improving communication. The problem in our country is that we don’t talk to each other.”

Turning to human settlements in the province, Mjongile said:

“The DA is continuing with the apartheid policy of separating our people. Poor black and coloured people are living on the outskirts of the city while the white community live in more developed parts. Integrated development or mixed developments are currently not being achieved.”

The party predicted that if the DA did not start developing mixed communities now, the city would still be divided in 20 years’ time.

Madikizela said the ANC was clearly not aware of the province’s long-term strategy.

“We have a three-pronged strategy as the Department of Human Settlements in order to deal with challenges of urbanisation, and our strategy is very much in line with the National Development Plan…

“Central to that strategy is to shift more resources to the upgrading of informal settlements in order to improve living conditions of the people.”

Madikizela said the province was strengthening partnerships to accelerate housing opportunities in the affordable market for people who did not qualify for subsidised state housing.

“Despite the challenge of population growth due to in-migration to our province, we have continued to deliver basic services better than any ANC-controlled province.”

[email protected]

Cape Argus

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