Sibongakonke Shoba
25 November 2008
Johannesburg — THIS was not your usual workers' rally - no red flags, no militant "comrades" clad in red T-shirts, and no Zwelinzima Vavi. One could see that Friday's congregation was for a new and different party.
Supporters arrived in flashy cars and skoro- skoros. Others walked to the local Mthatha community hall under the scorching sun. "COPE (Congress of the People) is our hope," said one middle-aged woman as she entered the hall.
Outside organisers, seemingly as an after-thought, or maybe because of the low turnout, attached A-3 sized posters on their cars bearing Willie Madisha's face in preparation for a motorcade to publicise the event.
Madisha, co-leader of COPE, was there to speak about the soon to be formed labour union that he claimed would not be affiliated to any political party.
Inside the hall, the only noise came from house music blaring from loudspeakers. Teachers, nurses and other professionals waited patiently for the former Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) president. There was no chanting or singing of struggle songs. One man pointed out that this was because it was not the meeting of the African National Congress (ANC), Cosatu, or the South African Communist Party. Yes, this was a new and different party.
Another man made the mistake of calling a fellow member "comrade". She quickly reminded him: "We are friends of democracy, not comrades," she said.
But all hell broke loose when former premier Nosimo Balindlela, and later, Madisha, came to the stage. The crowd broke into pro Thabo Mbeki and Mosiuoa Lekota songs that insulted their opponents.
These are the same songs that were sung by ANC president Jacob Zuma supporters outside the courts -- only a few words have changed. The party might be new, but the songs remained the same.
After Madisha, Balindlela and COPE youth leader Anele Mda delivered their speeches which insulted, if not defamed, ANC leaders, one man in the crowd summed it all up.
"It's just a question of the kettle calling the pot black," Pasika Nontshiza said . Nontshiza and his friend, Luxolo Tyali, came to listen to what Madisha and his new party had to offer. They sat and listened quietly to Balindlela talking about the ANC's failures, and corruption in the government. "Nosimo still needs to tell us why her government failed to deliver services at an expected rate when she was premier," said Tyali.
Tyali and Nontshiza are looking for a political home after their party, the Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania, left them cold.
"I will join COPE only if it is going to be run with honesty and integrity," said Tyali. He says the problem with COPE is that it was formed by people who were in government, and did nothing to improve the lives of South Africans.
"We are here just to listen," said ANC member Themba Zinto, who also came to assess COPE as an alternative. He and his friend, who refused to give his name, are not happy with the ruling party's decisions, especially former president Thabo Mbeki's dismissal. Some had already made up their minds when they attended the rally.
"The ANC has lost direction. The ANC I loved is no more," said one woman. Another COPE supporter, who bragged to his friend about being the only one at the venue wearing the party T-shirt, said people had been calling for such a formation for a long time. "Sesiyifumene (It's now here)," he said.
COPE supporters there all had one thing in common -- their love for Mbeki.
His removal is the first reason they give for leaving the ANC. Jacob Zuma's problems with the law and ANC Youth League president Julius Malema's utterances were also mentioned by the dissidents.
The majority of people joining the party in Mthatha and the OR Tambo region seem to be ANC members. COPE organiser Vuyanio Langa said about nine ANC branches in Mqanduli and a "huge" number in Mthatha had converted to COPE. Langa is himself the former chairman of an ANC branch.
A secretary of an ANC branch in Mthatha said that he was the only remaining member in his branch. "They have all left."
He said COPE leaders had failed to convince him why he should leave the ANC. The ANC would "most definitely" lose the Eastern Cape in the next elections, he said. Langa has lost count of people who have joined the party as they "arrive every day".
Langa said their strategy to win votes in the region would not be to criticise the ANC and its policies, but they would communicate their own policies once developed. "We will knock from door to door to say this is what COPE can offer you."
At a meeting in Matatiele on Saturday, COPE treasurer Mluleki George reminded the crowd about Zuma's legal woes, Mbeki's dismissal and Malema's outbursts. But, just as Zuma sat and watched Malema humiliate Northern Cape premier Dipuo Peters a few weeks ago, George sat and listened to a young man who called Zuma a "thief" and a "rapist". He said nothing.
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