Active Citizens Coalition: A party for community activists

Durban activists and businessmen have banded together to contest the upcoming local government elections in the local municipality as the newly formed Active Citizens Coalition (ACC) political party.

Active Citizens Coalition recently launched its manifesto in the city saying that the party had been created to provide a platform for community activists, who had been working with residents for many years, to take their activism to the next level. The party’s slogan is simply “Change through activism”

ACC president, Imtiaz Syed said the party was not aiming to contest any imminent provincial or national elections, although it wanted to grow eventually, but that its focus was on improving the lives of people at municipal level. The party comprises local community activists from areas including Chatsworth, Phoenix, Overport, Glenmore and Amanzimtoti and is contesting 80 wards in the municipality.

“ACC is not a national party. We are not running in the entire province. We are only running in eThekwini. We are not planning to take on the world and we don’t expect change to happen overnight,” Syed said.

Syed, is a local businessmen who initially got involved in activism through his local neighbour watch group, and his work grew to the point where he is now a recognised activist. He was on the streets during the hard Covid-19 lockdown last June/July providing food parcels to needy families.

Several of the party ward councillors are similarly community activists who have already been working to help residents improve their wards for years. 

ACCs principles highlighted at the launch of the manifesto include:

• Belonging and participation
• Respect of different views and backgrounds 
• Sustainability and acknowledging that we are caretakers of our community for the coming generations
• Commitment to caring for the social environment which includes the cleaning and greening of communities and the planting of healthy food.
• Upholding the constitution

Syed said the country had experienced 27 years of democracy and “there is no change”.

“We are staying in the same place and getting band aids put over everything,” Syed said.

He said local councillors needed to serve their communities by relaying their issues and concerns to the municipality for swift attention.

“We have created ACC as a platform for activists in your area – the person who has been working for years in your community as an activist,” Syed said.

He said the fledgling Active Citizens Coalition regarded itself as a “disaster outreach programme” that aimed to assist communities during an acute disaster such as a fire or a flood but that would rather help people to provide for themselves than to fund poverty.  

“We want to bring sustainable change. We try and sustainably improve your life,” Syed said.