ANC mobilises volunteers

2010-08-22 21:27

Durban - The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal was mobilising volunteers to help in schools and health institutions which have been abandoned by striking public servants.

“African National Congress members of parliament and members of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature will use their offices to mobilise volunteers to help,” said ANC provincial secretary, Sihle Zikalala on Sunday.

The ANC branches would also convene urgent meetings with governing bodies to galvanise support for abandoned learners, Zikalala said at a media briefing in Durban.

He said the ANC would provide volunteers to help clean hospitals and to feed patients.

The volunteers would work closely with the police to ensure that non-striking workers were not intimidated and that pupils were not prevented from using schools to prepare for the examinations.

“We call upon all pupils especially those who are doing matric to go to school from Monday and continue schooling even it means to study on their own,” said Zikalala.

The ANC was worried that the strike would have a negative impact on the province’s matric pass rate if pupils were prevented from going to school.

Zikalala said reports of damage to property would seriously affect the ruling party’s plans of speeding up service delivery.

“Such acts are unfortunately criminalising the strike which we believe it’s not meant to,” he said.

The ANC had noted with concern the blockade of public health institutions and believed union leaders needed to tell ordinary members to refrain from “this inhumane behaviour”.

The KZN government has secured a court interdict on Saturday to prevent striking public servants from barricading hospitals and intimidating non striking workers.

The court order was obtained from the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Saturday afternoon.

- SAPA