In a sudden departure from the Democratic Alliance, Romeo Matjila, a councillor in the J.B. Marks municipality has left the party to join the newly-formed Mazibuye African Congress as the secretary general.
The formation of the new party was announced during an imbizo in Durban on 14 July. Matjila says the new party is ‘answering the clarion call’.
On Monday, the party elected its NW provincial committee. Matjila says they have already started forming a branch in Potch.
The secretary-general says the MAC is targeting the taxi industry, traditional houses, traditional healers, the unemployed, churches and the neglected people in the country.
He said he could not forge a lasting relationship with the ANC, EFF or the DA. He described the MAC as his permanent home because of its sound policies.
Why I left the DA
Discussing some of his reasons for leaving the party, Matjila accused the DA of being a racist movement.
‘The DA is contrary to what they always champion as a party. I have seen it, I was there, I know what is happening there and they are a very racist movement. In J.B. Marks, all the leadership positions are reserved for white people and the rest are black puppets.
‘I challenged many decisions when I was still a member. I have run campaigns for them but, unfortunately, my campaigns were very black. They would even take some of our members from the townships to run their campaign here in town. It is very rare that you see a white DA person campaigning in the township. I have raised those issues with them but, because of their arrogance and superiority, they did not listen and they continue to use our people. I would like to extend a hand to all black DA members and say, we are here. I know you are being promised money and councillor positions to keep quiet,’ he commented.
Land should go back to the royal houses
On the issue of land, he says kings and chiefs should be the custodians of the land.
He believes they are closer to the people and will be able to help them access the land. He stressed that those kings and chiefs should not be dominant or authoritarian and not recognise the people.
‘We do not want the land to be given back to the state because history might repeat itself and white colonialists might take it back again. We have had a very brutal past, where white colonialists took the land brutally; it is time to get that land back,’ he said.
We are not accepting white and Indian people for now
Matjila dispelled the notion that his new party is racist because it will not accept white or Indians and that there is a possibility that the IEC will not register it for that reason.
‘We are not accepting them for now because we, as the native people of South Africa, want to consolidate and ensure that our house is in order. We have lost a lot as black people. We cannot allow thieves to be in the same house while we are busy cleaning it or installing security cameras. When I say ‘thieves’, I am referring to the thieves of our land and the thieves who continue to loot our minerals. Each party has its own constitution. We are not saying we do not want white or Indian people,’ he said.
Zuma’s advice to the party
‘We, as a party, cannot be described as pro-Zuma. The notion that we are a pro-Zuma party comes from the fact that we support each and every black child. ‘We will continue to support him until the court finds him either guilty or not guilty. We will support him at all costs,’ he said.
Matjila said they asked the former president, Jacob Zuma for advice. His response was that when he was a president, he was not just a president of the ANC but of everybody; but he still remained a loyal member of the ANC. ‘He told us we are living in a democratic country, we must continue to have this political party,’ said Matjila. He says they could not get hold of Thabo Mbeki because his diary was full. FW de Klerk was also not available because he has retired from politics.
Matjila believes the party will do well in next year’s polls. ‘We will be having a national launch at the end of September. We are hoping to do well and have representation in all legislatures and the national assembly,’ he said.
Chris Hattingh, MP and the constituency head in J.B. Marks responds to Romeo Matjila.
https://www.citizen.co.za/potchefstroom-herald/51256/das-relationship-romeo-comes-abrupt-end/
