Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi. | Doctor Ngcobo Independent Newspapers
IN A BID to pay tribute and celebrate a remarkable legacy that contributed immensely to South Africa, and to preserve a diverse cultural heritage, eThekwini Metro Municipality should be renamed after Amazulu Prince Mangosutho Buthelezi.
This is the motion that ActionSA plans to propose at the next council meeting of the eThekwini Metro Municipality.
Zwakele Mncwango, ActionSA KwaZulu-Natal premier candidate, said the party was proposing this because Buthelezi was not a prominent figure in the country’s politics, but also a revered leader within the Amazulu community.
Mncwango said Buthelezi’s lifelong dedication to the fight against apartheid, advocacy for peace and reconciliation, and unwavering commitment to the betterment of his people were qualities that deserved recognition and honour.
“By renaming the eThekwini Metro Municipality after Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, we aim to pay tribute to his remarkable legacy and ensure that his contributions to our nation are remembered and celebrated for generations to come.
“This gesture also serves as a reminder of the importance of acknowledging and preserving the diverse cultural heritage of our country.”
He said although the motion was meant to have been ventilated during the council meeting in April, it was ultimately cancelled without a valid reason, which they suspected could have been a tactic by the ANC to obstruct our motion.
Despite this setback, he said the party remained committed to its decision to push the motion through, especially after meeting Prince Zuzifa Buthelezi, the former IFP leader’s eldest son on December 11, 2023, who gave ActionSA the blessing to push for renaming the municipality in honour of his father.
When the renaming was first brought up by ActionSA in December, ANC provincial spokesperson Mafika Mndebele reportedly laughed off the proposal, dismissing Mncwango as a ‘political comic’ who should not be taken seriously.
Mndebele allegedly accused Mncwango of wanting to hog headlines, irrespective of whether he made sense.
According to the ANC spokesperson, there was no basis for naming the eThekwini Municipality after Buthelezi, as he had never been a councillor or lived in Durban.
Mncwango added: “Nevertheless, they (ANC) cannot avoid us forever. We will be reaching out to other political parties to garner their support. We are confident that together, we can make this symbolic gesture a reality.”
Buthelezi, the founder of the IFP and a traditional prime minister of Zulu kings, died in hospital at the age of 95 on September 9, 2023.
Buthelezi was also the longest serving politician whose career traversed over five decades.
The Star