The South African National Civics Organisation (SANCO) in KwaZulu-Natal has dismissed allegations that it recently cut ties with the ANC in the province because it wanted to join forces with the Umkhonto Wesizwe (MK) Party.
The provincial chairperson of the civic organisation, Lawrence Dube, says they “will never”’ join forces with the Jacob Zuma led splinter party.
SANCO is part of the ANC-led alliance alongside the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), the South African Communist Party (SACP).
Dube was speaking on Wednesday, November 27, in Durban where they announced that they have fully restored their ties with the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal.
Three weeks ago, SANCO said it was divorcing the ANC, citing various reasons including the governing party’s reluctance to meet with the civic organisation for months.
Dube said they are aware of the rumours that they are cosying up to the MK Party. However, he said they are not not true. It was claimed that the movement was sympathetic to Zuma, its former provincial chairperson.
“There was a rumour that by the time we were cutting ties with the ANC we wanted to go to the MK Party, that is total lies. SANCO is not having any ties with MK, our position is clear from the national conference that SANCO will be supporting the ANC and that is what we are standing for even today.
“There has never been any negotiations or talks that we have ever had with the MK… So, it would be a very serious joke to say SANCO is now in the same bed with MK. We are not MK, we will never be MK, we will remain SANCO that is pro-ANC,” Dube said.
Despite SANCO reconciling with the ANC in the province, the movement still wants Mafika Mndebele, the provincial spokesperson of the ANC to issue an unconditional apology to Sizwe Cele, the civic organisation’s provincial secretary.
This was after Mndebele personally attacked Cele shortly after the decision to divorce the ANC. He reportedly told Newzroom Afrika the decision was Cele’s feelings.
Cele told the press conference that by saying that, Mndebele was implying that all the other leaders of SANCO do not contribute anything during meetings.
“He basically meant that the PEC leaders are just ghosts of Cele. We hope that Mr Mndebele has realised that he made a mistake as he was not supposed to speak like that,” Cele said at the press conference.
