Ramaphosa for PE May Day rally

The ANC is out to woo Nelson Mandela Bay voters with the national Workers’ Day Rally set to be held in the city. ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa is scheduled to deliver the main address for the event, to be hosted by the party and alliance partner Cosatu on Tuesday.

At a media briefing at the ANC’s Bay headquarters, Florence Matomela House, deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte said they were in the metro to ensure the Bay was returned to the ANC alliance leadership.

She said this May Day was geared towards the ANC and its alliance partners working together for the 2019 general elections.

“[Bay mayor Athol] Trollip didn’t win any elections here in Nelson Mandela Bay,” Duarte said.

“He became a mayor because he was supported by the EFF and UDM so it is not so correct to declare him an outright winner and to declare the ANC-led alliance losers.

“We haven’t lost. We want to reclaim the ground here in Nelson Mandela Bay very decisively, work for it very clearly, and correct what may have been wrong.

“We must be very clear in that this is a blue-collar city, and a blue collar city cannot be marketed as a city that only wishes to attract the rich to come and settle here – while you put up all service delivery costs so the working class in future can’t be able to afford to live in this city.”
Duarte was accompanied by Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini, Cosatu general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali, ANC Eastern Cape secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi, South African Communist Party regional chairman Andile Mfunda and Sanco regional secretary Mxolisi Mani.

Ntshalintshali said the choice to hold the rally in the metro was a deliberate one so as to “liberate our people from the [exploitation] and suppression of the workers and their communities” by Trollip and the DA.

“Under the leadership of the notorious DA in the recent weeks we have noticed the collapse of service delivery.”

Ntshalintshali said they would be using the May Day rally to demand action on the implementation of radical economic transformation to address the 35% unemployment rate in South Africa.

“Cosatu has consistently argued that South Africa needs [an] alternative development strategy that will be focused on addressing the triple crisis of unemployment, deepening poverty and inequality,” he said.