The African National Congress (ANC) must refrain from deploying corrupt, incompetent and greedy people in top positions in the municipalities and other public entities as a mater of urgency if they are serious about taking service to the people.

These were some of the words by the secretary of the Alpheus Malivha District of the South African Communist Party (SACP), Mr Rudzani “Skinjas” Ramugumo. He delivered a memorial lecture in honour of the deceased John Marks at the Gwamasenga Secondary School last Saturday.

Ramugumo, a councilor in the Thulamela Municipality, severely criticized people who join political organizations with the aim of winning government tenders and to gain promotion, saying municipalities were being used as employment bureaus for people who had strong political connections. He reiterated the fact that people should be encouraged to work and not to wait for grants.

Ramugumo stated that "the ANC is in a critical condition in the intensive care unit, suffering from serious diseases such as factionalism, tribalism and corruption". He said that unemployment and poverty would never stop growing until people who were holding senior positions in the municipalities and other public entities ceased to serve their own personal interests and started to have the public interest at heart.

The secretary of the Tsianda branch of the South African National Civics Organization (Sanco), Mr PC Mulaudzi, said that his organization was concerned about the state of roads and the supply of water in the area.