Drakensberg: Kicking off its KwaZulu-Natal elective conference, the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union asked questions about whether it was on “the right bus” under the ANC-led alliance.
The Cosatu-affiliated union, which is made up of police officers, correctional services officers, traffic police and metro police, is holding provincial conferences across the country.
The KwaZulu-Natal chapter is having its conference in the Drakensberg and more than 1 000 members are taking part.
Kicking off the conference on its second day, provincial chairperson, Mabona Nyawo said there was no doubt that the national democratic revolution (NDR) had lost it way.
“If you talk about the national democratic revolution, the compass has shifted. A lot of questions, as the working class, we ask ourselves but we can tell that the NDR has lost track. Hence, we say the political compass is impaired… Are we still (on) the right track in terms of NDR? Is the person who (is) assigned to lead us through this process, is he still the right person?” Nyawo asked.
Indirectly touching on the leaders of the ANC, he said they should ask themselves whether it was the bus or the driver that was off track.
PICS: Members of POPRCU in KwaZulu-Natal warming up in song as their prepare to start their elective in the Drakensberg, the province's Midlands. Among those who will address the conference are ANC's Mdumiseni Ntuli, SACP's Themba Mthembu and COSATU leaders. @IOL #POPCRUKZN pic.twitter.com/0liFXDp3zk
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) February 17, 2022
“Is it the bus which has got a problem or is the driver driving the bus that has got problems? Those are the questions we must ask ourselves and we must debate them all, so that we can repair what has been damaged.”
Nyawo said ANC matters, which Popcru often funded, should be debated.
He said it was worrying that there were challenges within the governing party.
He said the leaks from national executive committee meetings painted a picture of a party in dire straits, a situation the working class could not ignore as it affected them.
“There is a lot that comes into our minds that we need to step back, ponder and see if we are still in the right bus. Do we still have the right driver? If not, that must be rectified because we can’t afford to lose the track.
“Comrades, we have seen that the ANC is in a spiral downfall. There is a drop of support from the urban (voters), a drop from the rural (voters) and indeed from the workers.”
Nyawo said the governing party should ask itself why it did badly in the local government polls in November last year. It should ask themselves why urban voters were shunning the ANC.
IOL