United against xenophobia and calling for the municipality to be dissolved, EFF members and Alliance for Transformation for All (ATA) marched to Enoch Mgijima municipality on Friday.
The two parties, together with foreign nationals living in Komani, gave Enoch Mgijima municipality executive mayor Sisisi Tolashe 21 days to respond to their grievances or they will force the municipality to dissolve.
EFF MP Primrose Sonti said Eastern Cape municipalities were all rotten with corruption. “Corruption, maladministration is not only affecting this municipality, but all the municipalities in the Eastern Cape. We are going to stop all this corruption in these municipalities,” Sonti said.
Sonti called on people in Komani not to take part in xenophobic attacks as they targeted black people.
“We have white foreigners, Indians and Chinese people living in South Africa, but those who are attacking foreigners are only focusing on black people,” Sonti said.
Reading the memorandum, EFF member Thulani Bukani said the people of Ezibeleni demand the land behind Queendustria to build their houses. He threatened a land invasion. Bukani said foreign nationals in Komani were harassed by the police.
ATA Chris Hani region chair Doc Ngcongca said they paid their vehicle licences but the roads in Komani were bad.
“Not maintaining the roads kills our businesses as passengers are complaining about the conditions of our taxis. We’re also calling for the municipality to put up shelters for hawkers in town,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the foreign nationals, Ghanaian Osei Agyeman said the EFF was the first political party to publicly condemn the xenophobic attacks. “We are going to work on the ground and help EFF campaign for the upcoming elections. We are calling for an end to victimiation of foreign nationals by the police,” he said.
Tolashe welcomed the petition and promised to respond...