ANC KZN to reprioritise industrialising the province

ANC KZN to reprioritise industrialising the province

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The African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal says it will reprioritise industrialising the province and revitalise factories that were shut down during the tough economic times.

This pledge was made by ANC provincial chairperson and Premier candidate Siboniso Duma, who said that this would ensure that South Africans have jobs.

He was addressing scores of people at a provincial Siyanqoba Rally at Madadeni in Newcastle. Newcastle is a key mineral and manufacturing hub in KwaZulu-Natal.

But these sectors are under pressure because of the closure of several steel and textile industries. Some businesses have never reopened due to the impact of Covid-19 and the looting during the 2021 unrest.

Duma says his government will introduce measures to stimulate the economy. He says the supply of reliable energy would ensure that the textile and mining industries stay afloat.

“The issue of energy must be addressed. It’s something that is affecting them. We can safely say we are dealing with the issues of ArcelorMittal/Iscor we know that we don’t want Newcastle to become a ghost town while we are in charge. We are saying that industrialisation in the Amajuba district it must be a priority and this area is also rich in terms of mineral deposits.”

2024 Elections | ANC campaigns in Newcastle:

Locals have bemoaned the lack of water, electricity and employment in the area but say they trust the ANC will improve service delivery.

“Now that the ANC is out of power in Newcastle we are struggling. There’s no service delivery of water and electricity. The local municipality is also not taking sanitation seriously.”

“We have no jobs. We need employment so that we can feed our families. The ANC has done a lot of good work in the past but we still need more.”

The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has urged its supporters to go out in their numbers to vote so that it is able to govern without a coalition.

APEMO launches manifesto in Bergville

APEMO launches manifesto in Bergville

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The African People’s Movement (APEMO) has called for people of all ages to be employed in government positions which the party said should have no age limits. This as government positions mostly go to people below the age of 35.

APEMO President Vikizitha Mlotshwa outlined his party’s roadmap in Bergville, in the Drakensberg region of KwaZulu-Natal. APEMO is a splinter faction of the National Freedom Party (NFP) but also worked with the party and the African National Congress (ANC) to take control of the Okhahlamba Local Council.

The party is contesting the election at provincial and national level.

Locals  bemoan the lack of basic services such as water, roads and electricity.

“We are desperately looking for proper roads and bridges. I also don’t have a house.”

“We have no water and electricity. We need employment. We hope that our votes will make a huge difference in terms of developing this area. We want Mlotshwa to continue from where he had left off.”

APEMO President Mlotshwa says his council has recognised the dire need to provide employment to people of all ages.

“People from 18 to 59 must be employed by government and that’s why as Okhahlamba municipality we received a conditional grant from national government that you employ from 18 to 35 and the if you employ 36 years that will be a fruitless expenditure. As the municipality led by APEMO we made it a point that we could fund this grant so that we cater for 36 to 59 years,” says the APEMO President.

Mlotshwa says the party is supporting calls to subsidise the taxi industry so that taxi fares are affordable to the poor. And that only foreign nationals with scarce skills should be allowed into South Africa for work purposes.

Elections 2024 | African People’s Movement launches manifesto in Bergville, KZN:

IFP KZN premier candidate’s blue-light vehicles impounded

IFP KZN premier candidate’s blue-light vehicles impounded

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The motorcade of the Inkatha Freedom Party’s (IFP) premier candidate in KwaZulu-Natal was pulled over and blue-light vehicles were impounded by police and eThekwini metro officers.

Thami Ntuli, who is also the mayor of the King Cetshwayo District Municipality on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast, says the move appears to have been aimed at disrupting his election campaign.

The IFP says its provincial chairperson’s convoy was forcibly stopped by heavily armed police and eThekwini metro officers. Ntuli was on his way home from Durban.

According to his party, Ntuli’s bags were searched and his bodyguards were disarmed. The party says upon finding nothing illegal and untoward from Ntuli, he was forced to drive himself home.

The party says it viewed this as political bullying that put the life of its premier candidate at risk. Police say Ntuli’s two-vehicle convoy was impounded because it was not permitted to drive with blue lights.

Colonel Robert Netshiunda, the KZN police spokesperson, explains: “Anybody who drives vehicles fitted with the blue lights without any authority and that person is not a police officer, is not a traffic police officer, is not a municipal police officer or a member of a defense force authorised to drive a car with blue light is in contravention of the law. And it doesn’t matter who the person is because when the police stopped the vehicles they did not know who was driving the vehicle.”

Brush with the law

It’s not the first time that Ntuli had a brush with the law. In 2020, Ntuli, who was then the Mayor of Nkandla, was arrested after allegedly contravening the Disaster Management Act on lockdown restrictions, which prohibited public gatherings.

Charges against him were later withdrawn.

Ntuli says the recent incident appears to be a political plan by the party’s opponents aimed at disrupting their campaign.

“To me, the incident was a planned and directed to my campaign as a premier candidate, putting my life at risk because when they were doing all what they were doing because it was dark in that corner. And you could not understand what was going to happen ultimately. That’s why I decided to leave on a private car alone without the protectors.”

Police say they’ve opened an inquiry. Ntuli’s vehicles have not yet been returned.

Elections 2024 | IFP’s KZN premier candidate pulled over by police, bodyguards disarmed:

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