statement by National Deputy-Secretary
The announcement by the ANC that it will not be attending the meeting called by KwaZulu-Natal safety and security MEC Nyanga Ngubane, between the UDM, IFP ANC, police and the army in Richmond raises serious questions and concerns. Through their absence, the ANC is communicating to the residents of Richmond that it is not interested in putting an end to the violence. It is obvious that personal vendettas against individuals weigh more to the ANC than the continuous loss of life in Richmond. Why is it that political point scoring is more important in the eyes of the ANC than putting an end to the killings? When the President of a country says, like President Mandela did on Sunday, that the line must be drawn on the murders then one expects the ruling party to pull out all stops in order to achieve exactly that.
The UDM’s call for an independent Commission of Inquiry was immediately rejected by the ANC, the initiatives taken by the safety and security MEC in the Province snubbed at and the continuous calls for talks refused. That forces one to start questioning the ANC motives. Is it a question of them not wanting the truth to get out or simply that the continuous killings in Richmond are serving another agenda of the ANC?
The UDM calls on the ANC to reconsider their decision not to participate in tomorrow’s talks. The serious situation requires that personal agendas be put aside and that a joint effort be embarked on in dealing with the sickening situation.
