UKZN hosts Elections Debate

BY: .

UKZN in partnership with eNCA and Independent Newspapers recently hosted an hour-long live elections debate on the Howard College campus.

Representatives from the African National Congress (ANC), the Democratic Alliance (DA), the National Freedom Party (NFP), the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) were part of the panel which discussed corruption, service delivery, job creation and youth development.

Ms Iman Rappetti of eNCA said KwaZulu-Natal had turned into a battleground in the run-up to the local government elections in August.

ANC’s Ms Zandile Gumede spoke on the youth programmes the party is currently running, their close working relationship with NGOs to improve people’s lives and encourage them to do things on their own, and how they kept their promises, including the delivery of 200 000 houses.

DA’s Mr Hanif Hoosen said the country was not moving in the right direction, and highlighted the decline in service delivery and the high levels of fraud in the country.

Commenting on the coalition with the ANC in the last elections, Ms Zandile Myeni of the NFP said it was relevant to work with the governing party.

The IFP’s Dr Cedric Xulu said 60% of people who had left the organisation had now returned and the party had regained control of five municipalities.  Xulu said there had been no reports of corruption and there had been clean audits in municipalities run by the IFP.

EFF’s Mr Marshall Dlamini said his party would restore the dignity of the people and uplift their lives. He called for an improvement in the supply of water and sanitation to Black people.

The debate was attended by UKZN staff and students and each political party was supported by their members who sang throughout the show.  The partnership was made possible by the University's Corporate Relations Division.

 Sithembile Shabangu