Former Ugu mayor remembered
The party's current regional chairperson, Mondli Chiliza, who was Mnyayiza's deputy chairperson described him as an ethical leader.
The African National Congress (ANC) Lower South Coast (LSC) Region is now officially called the Tolomane Mnyayiza Region. The renaming of the region was made official on Sunday when the ANC in the region held the Tolomane Mnyayiza Memorial Lecture.
Mnyayiza was the ANC LSC regional chairperson before he died in 2016. He was also a former mayor of Ugu District Municipality.
The resolution to rename the region was taken during the party’s regional elective conference in April this year.
The party’s current regional chairperson, Mondli Chiliza, who was Mnyayiza’s deputy chairperson described him as an ethical leader. Chiliza added that it was because of Mnyayiza’s leadership that the ANC decided to rename the region after him.
“The region cannot just be named after anyone. Mnyayiza never saw himself as better than any of us because of his status as mayor or regional chairperson. I was lucky to have been his deputy chairperson and deputy mayor, he was one person you would be happy to work with because he would never hide information or try to sabotage you,” said Chiliza.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Activist, Selvan Chetty, said he was pleased that the region has been renamed the Tolomane Mnyayiza Region. Chetty was one of Mnyayiza’s close friends.
“Mnyayiza was a close and trusted friend and colleague of mine as the former spokesperson of the ANC LSC Region. We spent many hours discussing and strategising how to best deal with the challenges faced by the people of the Ugu District. In fact, it was the late Mnyayiza that finally convinced me to resign from my job with an international human rights organisation and work locally,” said Chetty.
He added that despite the former regional chairperson holding high office, he remained humble and dedicated to serving the interests of the poor. Chetty said it was because of those characteristics that they ended up working together closely.
He said when Mnyayiza got sick, he requested that Chetty, induna Sbunge Mazubane, and Max Mbili attend to his personal matters.
“In fact Max Mbili and I coordinated Mnyayiza’s funeral on behalf of the ANC in the region. His passing was a real loss to the region and the country as a whole. It is now up to us to live up to the name and legacy that Mnyayiza fought for. We must strive for unity, non-racialism and a better life for all our people. We have a duty to respond to the call of the ANC in the region to promote good governance, and service delivery and to positively change the lives of all our people especially the poor,” said Chetty.
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