The National Democratic Convention (Nadeco) gained almost 500 new members in KwaZulu-Natal at the weekend, the party said on Monday.
Reverend Hawu Mbatha — the former leader of the African Christian Democratic Party in the province who last week crossed to Nadeco, giving the new party its first seat in the legislature — said his former ACDP branch in Overport outside Durban, comprising about 40 members, joined him at Nadeco on Sunday.
More than 400 people also joined the party at a rally in Mthubathuba on the north coast on Sunday.
”My branch, over a long period of time, has been unhappy with the ACDP, but I had to keep them going despite their misgivings,” said Mbatha.
His branch had encouraged him to make the move to Nadeco and he had agreed or else he stood to lose the support of his followers who ”made enormous financial contributions to make the ACDP a success in the general elections”.
”I decided to follow my people. They were very vociferous about this. My people were threatening to leave me.”
Mbatha said most of the people who joined Nadeco at the rally in Mthubathuba were from the African National Congress and the Inkatha Freedom Party.
”Since I announced my move over to Nadeco, my cellphone has been jammed by people saying they were with the ACDP because of me. We can’t cope with the requests of people asking for Nadeco membership cards,” he said.
Nadeco was formed by former IFP chairperson Reverend Ziba Jiyane last month.
Mbatha believes Nadeco appeals to the masses because ”it’s a party that has no baggage, we are focusing on the future not on the past, we do not keep on saying we were in the struggle or asking if people were in the struggle, and we are focused on the family. We believe the family is the core of our society.” — Sapa