Minister returns despite insults

A MONTH after she was insulted, called a drunk and reduced to tears in Port Elizabeth’s Red Location, Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini said this weekend she had no qualms about returning to the area.

On Saturday, a group of about five ANC members from Ward 15 apologised to Dlamini for the way she was treated by protesting residents who were demanding jobs at the Ernest Malgas drug treatment centre.

The group said while the plight of residents was serious, the protest had been hijacked by a few opportunists who insulted her.

The day before the ANC’s manifesto launch last month, Dlamini tried to intervene in a protest taking place at Singapi Street, but instead some residents accused her of being drunk, saying she reeked of alcohol.

On Saturday, Dlamini’s department held a ministerial imbizo at the Motherwell NU1 Stadium, where challenges of unemployment and the safety of the elderly were raised. More than 5 000 people attended.

Before the event got under way, the Ward 15 group asked for a quick meeting with Dlamini.

ANC member Kenneth Gqunta said: “We are here because we wanted to say we are sorry for the way you were treated.

“We apologise for those who said you were drunk.

“We want you to know that we do not share those views.

“We were raised better than to speak that way to an elder.”

But he said their gripes – that residents from Ward 15 were not employed at the treatment centre – had still not been resolved since the April 15 incident.

Dlamini said she was humbled by their apology.

She did not consume alcohol, she said, and was raised in a home where women did not drink.

Dlamini said she had become emotional at the time because New Brighton was the home of the ANC and many of the party’s leaders hailed from the area.

She said: “A bonus is that young people who were in New Brighton came and apologised, and I’m very touched and humbled by that.

“Not just for me, but for the ANC and the parents of those young people.

“It means they come from families with a very strong background.”

Asked if she would be happy to return to the area, she said: “In fact, I thought we were going to New Brighton today.

“I’ve always been ready to go back there.

“The fact that no one touched me there says that people were angry but they still have respect for the ANC.”

Meanwhile, talking about Saturday’s event, which saw blankets, food parcels and toiletries dished out to the elderly, Dlamini said she wanted to tell communities that they had to be more involved in developing their areas.

“Without communities, the government can never move forward,” she said.

“They should try to ensure that they stick together and tackle issues that are difficult.”