By Celani Sikhakhane
Shack dwellers in Durban who belong to the Abahlali BaseMjondolo organisation will vote for the EFF in the 29 May elections and not the DA as they did in the 2019 polls.
The decision was announced on Sunday during an “UnFreedom Day” rally by Abahlali BaseMjondolo.
The socialist movement – which campaigns for land, housing, dignity, democratisation of society from below, and against xenophobia – claimed that it couldn’t celebrate Freedom Day on April 27 because many people still lack land, houses, or water.
It announced that their vote this year will go to the EFF in the hopes the party will help them get land.
Abahlali BaseMjondolo leader Thapelo Mohapi said people cannot be free while still living in shacks without ownership of the land and basic services.
“It’s been 30 years of democracy but as the shack dwellers we are still suffering without land. How can you be free without land? We don’t have a house, we don’t have electricity, we don’t have anything that dignifies us as human beings,” Mohapi said.
Abahlali BaseMjondolo was formed by hostel dwellers who lived in the Mayville informal settlement and surrounding areas in Durban.
In 2016, the organisation encouraged people to vote for the ANC after the then-mayor of eThekwini, Zandile Gumede, said she supported their struggle for land and houses.
That relationship was short-lived after the movement complained that the municipality failed to provide them with houses.
In 2019 they changed their vote to the DA.
The EFF has promised the shack dwellers that after 29 May, they will push for land expropriation without compensation to make sure that they get land.
EFF KZN chairperson Mongezi Thwala said that the party will make sure that shack dwellers don’t suffer under an EFF government.
“We are glad that they have chosen the EFF as their beacon of hope to fight their plight. We are determined to fight for them and ensure that the land in eThekwini is returned to the rightful owners.”
Pictured above: Abahlali BaseMjondolo is swinging their vote to the EFF after dumping the DA.
Image source: X
