Whilst the campaign for the local government election taking place on Monday, November 1, intensifies throughout the country, locally the campaign in Ward 61 has certainly started heating up with accusations and counter accusations flying between political parties and instances of religious bias and even racism allegedly surfacing during the campaign.
In one of the incidents, the local ANC branch said that they were shocked to learn that one of their members was now a Ward 61 Councillor Candidate, representing Action SA. Prajay Ramjee, they say, is a member of good standing within the ANC and holds an ANC membership card. In fact, the ANC said that Prajay had also signed a form accepting that he subscribes to the ANC constitution and had recently attended a Branch General Meeting, where nominations were called for Ward and PR candidates to contest the forthcoming local elections. Mohapi Morapeli, chairperson of the ANC in Ward 61, said, “Prajay, as a card carrying member of the ANC, was part of the BGM (Branch General Meeting) held recently to nominate candidates to stand for the forthcoming local elections. Now what happened at our BGM, is that Prajay was not nominated to stand as Ward Councillor or to be on the PR list. No one nominated him, as clearly none of our members were convinced that he was the right candidate. Not even the Youth League or the Women’s League felt that Prajay should be nominated. There were no lobbyists for him. He was apparently hoping that one of the members who he spoke to before the meeting would have supported him, but when the time came for nominations, there was no support for him. Instead, Naeem Patel was supported. Hence, after the nomination process, Prajay seemed perturbed and has since not interacted with the branch. According to our records, we do not have a resignation letter from him, but either way, he will be dismissed from the ANC for going against the wishes of our members and the party.” Mohapi added, that he found Prajay not to be a principled person, as with one breath Prajay had accepted the principles and beliefs of the ANC constitution, but then, because he was not nominated, he immediately joined another political party, which has a different constitution and different principles. “What kind of person is this who jumps ship for the sake of position, irrespective of a difference in ideology or principles of the other political party?”
Mohapi added, “I have also heard that a Ward 61 Candidate and his supporters have apparently been making remarks, bordering on racism, concerning the demolishing of shacks in Itireleng, if he is elected. As most people know, the majority of residents of Laudium and Itireleng have been living in peace and harmony for years and we are now one community, with Itireleng children going to schools in Laudium and many adults working in Laudium and supporting the businesses in Laudium. We should beware of anyone trying to sow division in any form, including racism. As residents of Itireleng, we are aware of the concerns of the residents of Laudium, especially those complaining of noise and pollution. Believe me when I say, we from Itireleng also have the same concerns, as we also have children and also want them to be brought up in a healthy environment. We have complained so many times to the DA controlled council about the loud noise, as it falls under their mandate to prosecute the perpetrators, but seemingly they are not interested in the welfare of Laudium and Itireleng residents. Once more I appeal to all residents of Ward 61, including Laudium, Erasmia and Itireleng, let us unite in having a vibrant and safe community, for the sake of our children”, Mohapi concluded.
Prajay’s response
Prajay, told the Laudium Sun, “On July 2019, I joined the ANC because under the leadership of President Ramaphosa, I felt that the party was heading in the right direction. I merely wanted to serve my community. Recently, I was asked to attend the branch meeting of the ANC by a member of the ANC Women’s League, because she thought that due to my work on the ground, I would be a good candidate as a Ward Councillor. So, as an ANC member, I agreed to attend.
Unfortunately, I was not nominated by any person at the meeting, as a Ward Councillor Candidate. So, as I could see that I would not be able to serve my people under the ANC banner, I then submitted my resignation as an ANC member, via email, but the email bounced back.
When ActionSA approached me to be their Ward Councillor Candidate, I accepted, as I believe that our values are aligned”.
