MKMVA KZN members plan shutdow

Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA)
Image Source: Flickr

MKMVA KZN members plan shutdown, fed up with ANC government

The ANC in KZN and the MKMVA KZN PEC have distanced themselves from the planned protests

MKMVA KZN members plan shutdow

Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA)
Image Source: Flickr

Members of the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) in KwaZulu-Natal are outraged at the African National Congress (ANC) and its governing of the country, and have threatened to stage a shutdown of the entire province on Friday, 25 September 2020.

MKMVA members: ‘We are going ahead with our planned protest’

The disgruntled group said it would stage a mass protests across KZN as a display of their unhappiness with the ANC, citing the lack of action in combating corruption as well as the high unemployment rate, which has undoubtedly been exacerbated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“They are not in a position to take decisive decisions. Our struggle now, the revolution we are about to wage, we are not fooling around. We are going ahead with our planned protest. The ANC has failed to listen to our concerns. I guess the ANC wants us to act,” the MKMVA’s Dumisani Thango is quote as saying.

The ANC has been rocked by controversy, particularly surrounding dubious activity in the procurement of lucrative contracts to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) and the jet scandal, in which party members used an SANDF aircraft to travel to Zimbabwe.

KZN MKMVA PEC not consulted

The MKMVA’s Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) in KZN said it was not informed about the planned marches and expressed concern.

“The problem is with this entire planned protest. The comrades never contacted us as the provincial structure. As the PEC, we have no idea what the strike is about and that some of our comrades have planned to shut down the province of KwaZulu-Natal,” secretary Jazzman Mthembu told the SABC.

“I assume also that regional leaders were not consulted. That is a huge problem, because I think if the comrades had engaged us, we would have engaged them on other means to voice their concerns, they did not give us that opportunity to engage them”

ANC KZN calls for engagement

At the same time, the ANC in KZN has echoed the MKMVA PEC’s sentiments, urging the members to engage them so as to find a solution to addressing their grievances.

“As the ANC, we remain firm and committed to saying, let us work with each other to try and solve all the issues that are there whatever challenges. We agree and acknowledge that there are things that could have been done better in the previous years,” said spokesperson Nhlakanipho Ntombela.