The ANC has lost yet another prominent member and councillor in the Cederberg Municipality in the Western Cape.
Maxwell Heins resigned as an ANC councillor and member on Wednesday.
Heins said he can no longer be with an organisation that has lost its values and founding principles.
“The ANC of today is no longer the ANC of Mandela which I joined originally. I will continue to serve the people, but not via the ANC,” he said.
Heins’s resignation comes seven days after KwaZulu-Natal ANC fired three of its councillors after they joined the newly formed uMmkhonto weSizwe Party led by former president Jacob Zuma.
A caucus member, who did not want to be named, at the Cederberg Municipality said it was strange that Heins would only notice that the ANC he served most of his life was no longer the one he joined.
“It is really strange to witness some of the people we thought were our comrades to behave in this manner. I still can’t fathom this unusual behaviour from our leaders. This is exactly what the national chairperson characterised as counter-revolutionary.
“I just hope one day all the comrades who have left the organisation would come back to their senses and realise that the ANC was the only movement that would change the life of South Africans,” the caucus member said.
Western Cape ANC spokesperson Khalid Sayed confirmed that Heins had resigned as a member.
Sayed said they wish him everything of the best in his new journey, adding that as the party they have capable comrades who are on standby to serve their people.
“It is true that former councillor Heins has left the organisation, and we are aware that there would be by-elections that must be held in that ward, even though at the moment we are not yet sure when the date for the by-elections would be.
“However, we are confident that we will retain that ward and we are most certainly sure that we will win that ward,” the spokesperson added.
On the question of whether this exodus of members from the organisation won’t make it difficult for the party to reclaim the province, Sayed said there were many leaders and activists in the ranks of the ANC who would make sure that they reclaim the province in the hands of the ANC.
Heins did not disclose what organisation he would be joining since he has left the ANC.
The Star
Sipho Jack
sipho.jack @inl.co.za