Letter: Mtanga devoted to service

IN paying tribute to the late councillor Monde Mtanga, I really thank God for the years we spent together as friends and comrades.

I will never stop loving you, my leader, and I will miss your advice and political discussion on local government issues.

You stayed true to the course, a dedicated and disciplined member of Sanco, the ANC, Eastern Cape Unemployed Workers Union and the SACP for more than three decades.

Your political knowledge and discipline was anchored in the Freedom Charter and national democratic revolution ethos.

I blame the ANC national conference of Polokwane for dividing disciplined and tested comrades who left the ANC to join COPE.

I remember discussing your problems with the new tendencies of new the ANC REC in 2008 and how deployees to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality were treated. You decided to resign as an ANC councillor.

I will remember your leadership skills when you were chairperson of the Eastern Cape Unemployed Workers Union when we received R 2.5-million for feeding unemployed and poor families in Kwazakhele, Motherwell and Veeplaas, and we delivered three years’ clean audit to the Department of Health and Population Development.

Mtanga was always an ordinary and methodical person who got on well with people.

He had a great talent and gift for initiating projects and motivating people to be involved, for instance in the Motherwell Development Forum, Political Broad Forum and the housing development of Red Location and Matthew Goniwe Hostel.

As civic leader he fought the battle against eviction of families by various financial institutions.

He was of few words, peace-loving and devoted to people who he served as a leader and councillor.