ANC provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi has called on party members to fight corruption, saying ruling party leaders were known as thieves in communities.
Ngcukayitobi was speaking at an Umkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans (MKMVA) event where the Vusumzi Mjila branch in Komani celebrated the centenary of Nelson Mandela and Albertina Sisulu.
The families of 10 MK members from the branch were given tokens of appreciation by the leadership to recognise the role they played in the liberation of the country.
Among those who were recognised were Vusumzi Mjila, Mncedisi Mdingi, Qonda Hoho, Makabongwe Nqandela, Bronson Tyambetyu, Simanga Mtirara, Zwai Ngwetsheni, Zuzeka Roji, Nomalungelo Koni and Laway Stuurman.
Ngcukayitobi said the ruling party’s image had been damaged over the years by corrupt individuals.
“We should fight against corruption and campaign against corruption in our areas. When people see us as leaders of the ANC they see thieves. To them, as long as you are a leader of the ANC you are a thief,” he said.
Ngcukayitobi called on party members to work towards one goal.
“Our focus should be on uniting our people, renewal of the organisation and job creation,” he said.
The South African National Military Veterans Association (Sanmva) chair in the Chris Hani region, Sipho Ngwetsheni, called on the government to prioritise military veterans and families of late veterans.
“We need the families of these veterans to benefit from the houses that are built and veterans must be employed in all our municipalities,” he said.
Department of military veterans spokesperson Mbulelo Musi said part of their programme was to encourage veterans to write their own history as a form of therapy.
“These veterans still carry the traumatic experiences they endured in exile, and it is programmes like these that can help them,” he said.
He said there was a lot that the government had done for the veterans, but it was not enough.
“Whatever has been done, that can never replace the life of a person.
“In Komani we have built 70 houses for military veterans and there are 200 more houses to be built for the military veterans and the families of the fallen,” he said.
“All government departments must deliver to these heroes and heroines, not as charity but because they deserve it.”..