“Legitimate” local structure for SANco

After almost five years of parallel SANCO structures in Vhembe, a "legitimate" structure was born and finally launched over the past weekend.

The launch coincided with the much-awaited regional conference held at the Thohoyandou Library auditorium on Sunday. Noticeably absent during the meeting was the leader of the other faction, Chief Progress Kutama.

The Limpopo Provincial SANCO leadership, led by its chairperson, Masekoameng Mesina, oversaw the elections. Gilbert Kganyago, the Limpopo provincial secretary of the SACP, was also present.

During the conference, Magdeline Netshaulu was elected the chairperson of the new structure. She will be assisted by Percy Masevhe as her deputy. Thiathu Ravhura, who is also Mutale Municipality's spokesperson, was elected secretary, with Melda Makwarela as his deputy. Old-time political activist Tshililo Manzere was elected treasurer, while Hangwani Madzhie was elected the organizing secretary.

Speaking during the conference, SANCO Limpopo provincial secretary Jack Maphoso warned all those who were operating parallel structures to desist from doing so, saying they should support the legitimate structure they launched. He warned that severe disciplinary action would be taken against those undermining the new structure.

“We told them to disband and dissolve and go back to their branches, which is a directive from national office. We know there are people out there like Kutama who are going all out to confuse our people,” said Maphoso. He said they were mandated by the national office to investigate the activities of the parallel structures and urged all who had receipts for payment of monies to make them available to the leadership.

“We are in the process of opening criminal cases against those who took money from members fraudulently. This is a serious offence and those responsible will not get away with it,” he said. He said all institutions and organisations would henceforth be informed of the legitimate structure within which they should work.

After being elected as chairperson of the new committee, Magdeline Netshaulu said as a committee they were going to work hard in redeeming SANCO to its rightful position in the community. “We are going to launch branches, sub-regions and also foster relationships with traditional leaders for the sake of service delivery in our communities. We know there are challenges when it comes to education and the health system in our province. This we will deal with for the benefit of our communities, “she said.

She said they were going also to engage the municipalities and seek ways on how best they could bring services to the communities.

Date:01 March 2013

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019. He currently writes on a freelance basis, covering human rights issues, court news and entertainment.

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