Is COPE about to collapse? It would be no surprise really since COPE is comprised of disgruntled Mbekites who were never any good to begin with. More's the pity though because we need a strong black opposition party that could help lower the ANC's majority but it looks like COPE may not be it, destined to follow the fate of the UDM, become a regional black party or perhaps fade away completely.
Internal wrangling and divisions among members of the new Congress of the People (COPE) in South Africa might lead to the total collapse of the party. A member of the executives Simon Grindrod lambasted his own party officials for being undemocratic and called for immediate solution to the "crisis".
Grindrod said party members are leaving en masse putting a question-mark over the fledgling party's future. ”The tension between party leader Mosiuoa Lekota and first deputy president Mbhazima Shilowa, have led a situation giving rise to parallel structures in provinces and regions aligned either to Lekota or to Shilowa,” he said
He said there is growing perception that the founding president Lekota is being sidelined. “The perception continues that the president (Lekota) is being isolated by those supporting the deputy president (Shilowa). This scenario is rapidly becoming a carbon-copy of events in the ANC which led to Polokwane,” said Grindrod.
Grindrod said it has increasingly become difficult to build structures adding that there was now a common belief that COPE has become 'just like the ANC' in practice. He said ordinary members, previously so enthusiastic and inspired by our message, are abandoning the party and have lost confidence in the party.
“We must act in unified and decisive fashion to rectify the situation," Grindrod said in a document, which he said was “designed to offer constructive proposals to assist the party we have all worked so hard to build”.
Part of the problem, according to the document, is that members and the wider South African electorate were confused by its leadership, where Mvume Dandala, and not party leader Lekota, led the party in Parliament, while Shilowa was its chief whip. Grindrod called for elective conferences to be convened urgently to deal with the problems.
Is COPE about to collapse? It would be no surprise really since COPE is comprised of disgruntled Mbekites who were never any good to begin with. More's the pity though because we need a strong black opposition party that could help lower the ANC's majority but it looks like COPE may not be it, destined to follow the fate of the UDM, become a regional black party or perhaps fade away completely.
5 Opinion(s):
Another prediction by ILSA? COPE will collapse and merge with the ANC, thus giving the ANC the desired 2/3 majority.
Who financed this COPE circus anyway ?
@ VI, yep, we called it first didn't we? COPE was ANC Lite and would dissolve into the main ANC sooner or later. There's your 2/3rds majority the ANC effectively has.
Once an anc cadre, always an anc cadre. I knew right from the beginning that this would not last, I even think that the whole thing was a ploy to "satisfy" the frustrated anc members and "break away" from the anc. But the commies always have a plan "B" and you guys are right, they will probably allign themselves with the anc within the next year, probably after the 2010.
The gravy-train is reserved for the ANC ruling putty..!
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