A high-powered African National Congress (ANC) delegation that included Siphiwe Nyanda and Billy Masetlha was last weekend barred from entering Khutsong township on the West Rand. Khutsong residents are still up in arms over their transfer to North West province.
The ANC leaders had planned to conduct door-to-door canvassing in the township, but ended their tour in nearby Carletonville after hearing that people had barricaded roads with rocks and burning tyres in protests at their coming.
The residents, organised by the Merafong Demarcation Forum, held two mass rallies at the local stadium on Friday and Saturday where they waited to confront the ANC leaders should they enter the township.
Despite a strong police presence, groups of youngsters, some as young as 10 years old, took to the streets, vowing to wreak havoc if the leaders entered the township.
Although wild celebrations broke out in Khutsong when Jacob Zuma beat Thabo Mbeki for the ANC presidency in Polokwane last year, some community leaders are now insisting that Zuma will not be allowed to come and endorse the ANC in the township without addressing their central demand of being taken back to Gauteng.
The residents have protested for more than two years at the decision to incorporate them into North West and have evicted councillors from the township. They have also made it difficult for the ANC to operate.
On Friday, ANC national executive committee (NEC) members, who included Lumka Yengeni, Ayanda Dlodlo and Nathi Mthethwa, met the provincial, regional ANC leadership at a ”battle of ideas” seminar in Carletonville, while residents organised a mass meeting.
ANC caucus spokesperson Khotso Khumalo, who was a member of the team, said the door-to-door canvassing was abandoned because the regional ANC had not adequately consulted structures about the ANC activity.
”When you visit Khutsong, it makes sense to speak to the Khutsong Demarcation Forum, Cosatu and the South African Communist Party. That had not happened,” Khumalo said.
But he denied that the canvassing had been abandoned because of fear and intimidation.
”We felt our exercise would have been futile as the demarcation forum also had a meeting planned and our own comrades had not done enough preparatory work. But my impression is that the community looks forward to being addressed by president Zuma and the rest of his leadership,” Khumalo said.
Nyanda said NEC members had never intended to visit Khutsong.
Jomo Mogale, one of the leaders of the demarcation forum, said he had refused to speak to local ANC leaders who belatedly tried to facilitate entry for the ANC leadership on Saturday morning.
”Our position in Khutsong is that we will only allow the ANC to exist here after they have reversed the wrong decision taken by ANC members in the National Assembly to move us to North West.”
Asked if they were creating no-go areas, Mogale said: ”It is the only recourse because we expected the new ANC leaders to consult with residents first and not surprise us with door-to-door visits.”
SACP Gauteng chairperson Nkosiphendule Kholisile said the ANC leadership appeared to have approached the Khutsong issue the wrong way.
”This thing of saying to people we want to come and hear what your problem is when they know very well what it is will not help. Thabo Mbeki, Sydney Mufamadi and Mosiuoa Lekota failed for two and half years because they also pretended that they didn’t know what the problem was. The community is not necessarily denying them entry but is saying nothing has changed and they want to be heard,” Kholisile said.
The residents had also challenged the government decision at the Constitutional Court, which is yet to release a judgement after hearing submissions in September last year.
Community leaders have indicated that as with the case with the local government elections in 2006, which residents boycotted, no voting will take place during general election next year if the demarcation issue is unresolved.