2009/02/28
AN ANC promise to parade Congress of the People members who they claimed were returning to the ruling party bombed yesterday.
It had been speculated that as many as 2000 Cope members would return to the ANC – but only 60 people turned up.
Few of them were Cope members and many did not know why they were at the meeting at the East London City Hall.
Inquiries by the Dispatch established that some of them had been members of the United Independent Front.
It’s the latest ANC public relations exercise that has flopped and follows the fallout from former President Nelson Mandela’s appearance at a Dutywa rally two weekends ago.
Yesterday’s showing could not have been foreseen by Luthuli House, which issued a statement through party spokesperson Jessie Duarte urging the media to attend and witness the defection back to the ANC by Cope members from Port Elizabeth, Amahlathi and Mbhashe.
Provincial ANC chairman Stone Sizani and ANC elections campaign organiser Fikile Mbalula were on hand to welcome them.
But only one known Cope leader – former Amathole regional treasurer- general Thabo Mandila – was on display.
A Dispatch journalist seated among the “new faces” found no evidence that former Cope members were in the crowd. In fact some of the people at the meeting said they had never left the ANC in the first place and were in the dark about why they were there.
A 20-something man, who introduced himself as Mvana from Dutywa, said: “I did not leave the ANC and I’m here with other people. I do not know if they left.”
A woman who did not want to reveal her name said she had also never moved over to Cope.
Mbalula claimed many of the defectors “are at work and they did not have time to come here” – even though the meeting had been delayed from 10am to midday.
Mandila said “they” realised they were foolish to think Cope offered something new. “We were joining the same people who made mistakes in the last decade,” he said.
Steven Thetha, a former UIF member from Port Elizabeth, said he had left because that party had not done anything for them.
Sizani promised another batch of defections from the United Democratic Movement tomorrow .
And he gave an ultimatum to former members who saw no future in Cope to rejoin before April 22.
Mandila’s departure from Cope didn’t faze the party. Their Amathole regional chairperson, Thabo Matiwane, said: “We wish him all the best but history will judge him. His departure will not be a loss to Cope because he has not launched a single branch.” - By MAYIBONGWE MAQHINA, MSIMELELO NJWABANE and GCINA NTSALUBA
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