Coloured community in the North West feel marginalised by ANC

The coloured community of Danville in Mahikeng in the North West says the African National Congress (ANC) has marginalised them.

They accuse the party of not including them in leadership structures and in the provincial legislature.

They also decry the bad state of service delivery in their area.

Jakobus Swartz is a member of the ANC Interim Regional Committee in the Ngaka Modiri Molema region.

“We feel very marginalized. Our people don’t get opportunities and we as volunteers, as leaders of the ANC in this ward, we are the ones doing door-to-door. These were the complaints that we received on numerous occasions. Even to the former Interim Provincial Committee (IPC), we have reported it,” adds Swartz.

The North West ANC IPC spokesperson Kenny Morolong says the party has no intention of marginalising any racial groupings.

“We have no intentions of marginalising other national groups. The ANC respects the role played by all national groups in the struggle against apartheid and in building the African National Congress to be what it is, a mass based movement, for all South Africans,” explains Morolong.

Last week, community members in Ward 41 at Meriting in Rustenburg in the North West threatened to disrupt voting on election day if the ANC does not address their concerns.

The community bemoans the removal of their selected councillor candidate on the ANC candidate list, who was allegedly replaced by someone else even after the list was sent to the Independent Electoral Commission (ICE).

Some angry residents say they are not going to vote.

“We are not going to vote here in Ward 41 because ANC is undermining the processes that they outlined in their constitution,” says one of the residents.

Meanwhile, ANC Deputy President David Mabuza has apologised to community members for the mistakes of the past saying the divisions in the movement have derailed service delivery.

Mabuza was speaking during his door-to-door campaign in Hammanskraal.

ANC Deputy President David Mabuza admits ANC mistakes: