Rustenburg - ANC national executive committee (NEC) convenor in the North West, Humphrey Mmemezi, invoked Nelson Mandela's name in a last ditch effort to stave off his party's election campaign disaster in some parts of Rustenburg this week.
Mmemezi repeatedly mentioned Mandela's name when introducing himself to residents of the hot spot informal settlement of Yizo Yizo outside Tlhabane, Rustenburg, where the ANC was met with hostility recently.
Despite a smiling President Jacob Zuma's face being on almost every election poster of the ANC and the T-shirts he was handing out, Mmemezi had to fall back on Mandela to kick-start his door to door campaign for the municipal elections.
Mmemezi, who was accompanied by Rustenburg ANC mayoral candidate Mpho Khunou and several ward councillors, went from shack to shack telling residents that he was from Mandela's party.
Prior to his arrival, he was warned that the area had become a no-go area for ANC councillors and volunteers and they had been intimidated with guns.
"I am a member of the national executive committee of Mandela's party and I am here to hear what your issues are and how we can help you," he said. "We are also here to remind you not to forget to vote for the ANC on August 3."
He told unemployed teenagers clutching babies to ensure that they registered their children for a child grant. He also urged unemployed men to hold their women by the hand on election day to ensure an ANC victory.
But it wasn't long before Mmemezi and his marching troops of yellow ANC volunteers were taken to task for not emulating Mandela's leadership by elderly ANC supporter Pele Moletsane.
Moletsane complained bitterly about the current crop of ANC leaders locally and in the province saying they were pushing veterans like him away.
He reluctantly accepted an ANC T-shirt Mmemezi gave to him insisting he did not need one.
"I have been an ANC member for along time but I am very angry. This is not the ANC of Mandela that I know, it is failing us," he said.
Mmemezi took Moletsane's cell number and promised to return to deal with many of the issues he had raised including housing and provision of electricity.
Another resident Kaizer Moatshe told ANC volunteers he was tired of them visiting him only before elections.
But it was at the other end of Yizo Yizo where things took a turn for the worse. Residents of the area shouted down Khunou, who is the current mayor, in the presence of Mmemezi and ANC deputy secretary general Jessie Duarte.
The residents of a shack sprawl vented their frustrations on a plan to relocate them and failure by the municipality to provide them with services.
Rustenburg officials pleaded with the angry community, but were forced to abandon the meeting and leave the area promising to return next week to deal with their issues.
Mmemezi, however, downplayed the incident saying he was mostly welcomed in all the shacks and that people just indicated their frustration on slow delivery of houses.
"They can see that in other places we have given houses quicker and they think we are taking a bit long but they acknowledge that their children are getting social grants from the ANC," he said.
"The small meeting fight is about committees and who goes first when houses are given. It's a fear of being left out because everybody wants to benefit in this ANC. The fight is really an ANC family matter because those are ANC people."
Elections Bureau