/ 6 October 2013

They are still calling us bantus, says ANC’s Mchunu

The  ANC's KwaZulu-Natal leader Senzo Mchunu.
The ANC's KwaZulu-Natal leader Senzo Mchunu. (M&G)

There was still a place in the country where black people were called bantus, delegates, and homelanders, the ANC's KwaZulu-Natal leader Senzo Mchunu said in Durban on Sunday.

"It is the same people in the Western Cape who call us refugees," he told a rally marking the start of the party's 2014 election campaign.

"They are calling us bantus. They refer to us as representatives … [they are] referring to us as delegates, referring to us as homelanders, natives," he told thousands of ANC supporters at Princess Magogo Stadium in KwaMashu.

He warned supporters of people trying to secure votes in the Lindelani area of neighbouring Ntuzuma. Mchunu did not name the Democratic Alliance (DA) or Zille. On Saturday, DA leader Helen Zille visited the area. She said she saw no reason why the DA could win control of the eThekwini municipality in 2016.

Mchunu urged supporters to not to resort to violence.

"There is no need for comrades to engage in violent activities, whether it comes from a comrade or a non-comrade."

'Peace, political tolerance'
He received a rousing welcome when he arrived at the stadium and walked around greeting supporters. A sea of yellow T-shirts emblazoned with a photograph of President Jacob Zuma swayed to the rhythm of the music blaring across the venue.

Mchunu said: "Peace, political tolerance and delivery will be a part of our campaign to deepen democracy in our country."

He urged the youth to be patient and grab every opportunity that came their way.

"In the near future we are going to succeed to create job opportunities."

The party faithful were urged to make sure the ANC would be ruled by the "green, black, and gold", the ruling party's colours.

He said the party had delivered infrastructure, from houses to roads and water, and had freed the country from apartheid.

Officers from both the police and the eThekwini metro police kept watch outside the stadium while ANC marshals ensured order inside the venue.

Several buses and minibus taxis were used to ferry supporters to the event. The rally was the first led by Mchunu since he was elected premier of the province on September 26. His predecessor Zweli Mkhize resigned as premier of KwaZulu-Natal to become the party's full-time treasurer general. – Sapa