DURBAN - FORMER eThekwini deputy mayor and councillor Logie Naidoo was hot on the election campaign drive with his message being “a South Africa with non racialism”.
Naidoo joined Shallcross councillor Previn Vedan in ward 71 (Shallcross, Bottlebrush, Crossmoor and Moorton) handing out pamphlets and speaking to the community on Sunday.
He described Vedan, 29, as a young, dedicated person who had inherited ageing infrastructure in the ward. Vedan held his electioneering campaign at the intersection of Shallcross and Klaarwater Road.
Naidoo joined the ANC in 1979 when it was a banned organisation.
Naidoo said three demons faced the government. They were racism, tribalism and now the recent factionalism within the ANC in eThekwini.
“I assisted in the by-election of ward 71 where Vedan snatched the ward from the DA in 2018.
“He works around the clock responding to issues. He has been inundated with infrastructure complaints.
“Without fear of contradiction I can state that he is dedicated and perseveres. We know there are challenges. Officials do not respond timeously and the City is sometimes not geared up to take up service delivery challenges.
“The people now have a voice connecting them to the municipality. I hope the community can return him to office as councillor, Naidoo said.
“I am promoting unity. It is my dream and that of other leaders who have passed on for the country to have a non-racial democracy.
“The Freedom Charter states that South Africa belongs to all. We are a rainbow nation. Whatever takes us off course, we will struggle to get it back on line.”
Naidoo said that no political party was big enough to control the country, aside from the ANC.
“We have broad-based support across all cultural backgrounds and the length and breadth of the country.”
Naidoo said political party coalitions did not work.
“We have seen it in Italy, India and Tshwane. They don’t last. We have a renewal programme to transform things. Some people are using racism to stay in power.”
The ward became available after councillor Sharon Hoosen was moved to the KwaZulu-Natal legislature.
Vedan, a human rights lawyer, beat the DA’s Fatima Ismail with the IFP, EFF, MF, ACDP, Al Jama-ah and DLC, picking up the minor placings in the hotly contested ward 71 by-election.
Vedan said as councillor he planned to continue building relations between the largely Indian and black communities in the ward.
This week Naidoo will be in Isipingo and oThongathi.
As part of the campaign trail Premier Sihle Zikalala met ward 58 residents. Naidoo said the sectoral meeting was aimed at obtaining issues from stakeholders. Naidoo was with Zikalala and eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda addressing the community in La Mercy and the oThongathi Beach area on Saturday. Naidoo was also with Jessie Duarte in Phoenix on Thursday.
Daily News