“I can say that she is the striker of the province and we are proud of her,” the NEC member said.
ANC NEC member Violet Siwela has thrown heaps of praises at Mpumalanga PTT co-ordinator Lindiwe Ntshalintshali, saying in her they see a true ANC leader.
Siwela spoke on behalf of the ANC at the funeral service of Lindiwe Ntshalintshali’s father-in-law Ephraim Ntshalintshali in Bethal on Saturday 12 March 2022.
Ephraim died 4 March 2022 at the age of 79 following a short illness. He was the father of Lindiwe’s husband, businessman Mfanimpela Ntshalintshali.
His funeral was attended by a large number of comrades from Lindiwe’s Focus camp like provincial convener Mandla Ndlovu, Nkangala ANC leader Speedy Mashilo, Mbombela strongman Mandla Msibi and Gert Sibande ANC acting secretary Lindi Masina who was the program director of the funeral service.
Also Nkangala district municipality’s Lucky Ndinisa, SANCO’s Linda Dhlamini and Mike Soko were amongst those that came to support the Ntshalintshali family when they laid Mkhulu Ephraim to rest at the Bethal cemetery.
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The funeral saw Msibi leading comrades with struggle songs and a demonstration of the Focus sign ahead of the 13th provincial elective congress.
Siwela said as a party they are looking for “cadres” who will be like the brave Lindiwe – people who will stand their ground without “selling out”.
She said she worked well with Lindiwe Ntshalintshali during the time Siwela served as deputy provincial chairperson.
“We are proud of how the ANC raised her and in her we see a true leader,” Siwela said to thunderous applause, urging the comrades to go and support Lindiwe Ntshalintshali at the upcoming conference.
“She is one of the strikers in the province and as ANC we are proud of her. As ANC we are looking for cadres who are going to be like Lindiwe Ntshalintshali, people who are well-raised and who can stand their ground without selling comrades out,” she said.
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Siwela said as the ANC they were saddened by Mkhulu Ephraim’s death and were sending their condolences to the family.
She said a week ago President Cyril Ramaphosa visited Mpumalanga and spoke about “good behaviour” amongst leaders.
“The problem is that as leaders we have lost connection with the community. President Ramaphosa said to us that he is going to clean the house and those who stole money belonging to the public will be arrested,” Siwela said.
Siwela was elected the national executive committee (NEC) member on 18 December 2017 in Nasrec alongside provincial chairperson DD Mabuza who became the deputy president on that day.
Their elections to the NEC culminated in vacancies of the chair and deputy chair positions in the executive, forcing Mandla Ndlovu who was provincial secretary to come become the acting chair and Lindiwe Ntshalintshali, who was deputy provincial secretary, to be the acting secretary.
But now the structure has been disbanded after it overstayed its term by over 3 years – failing to convene a conference since Mabuza and Siwela’s departure.
SANCO national secretary Mike Soko also spoke on behalf of the alliance partner at the funeral and sent condolences to the Ntshalintshali family.
(edited by ZK)
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