The Democratic Alliance candidate councillor for Ward 105 in Alexandra, Shadrack Mkhonto claims the ‘brutal relocation and dumping’ of shack dwellers from the Jukskei River bank in 2000 was, to him, the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.
It was this treating of black people like dirt by the ANC which saw a number of elderly dying in Diepsloot from exposure to the elements, that led to the firebrand card-carrying member of the ANC to dump his own political home to join the then-white liberal party, the Progressive Federal Party.
It was after Alan Fuchs, now a DA councillor, he took this injustice into his own hands and found a solution that resulted in a court order that halted the relocation of people on open and unserviced ground. The court ordered that before people could be relocated, the government and municipality had to first service the land and it was this victory that Mkonto said ‘opened my eyes and I began to see the light and I finally turned my back on the ANC ever since’.
Mkhonto then decided to turn his energies into helping the Alex community by fixing broken sewerage pipes that were flooding various homes, buying building materials for various fire victims and repairing homes that were near collapse.
A former security guard, Mkhonto was born in Bushbuckridge but cut his political teeth in the ANC at the Secunda township of Mbalenhle. He came to Alexandra in 1989 and lived with his parents at No 2 18th Avenue, a stone’s throw to the river bank community he served.
“I have worked for the people of Alexandra over many years, including those in Ext 9 and 10 in the so-called landlord and tenant conflict. If I am elected ward councillor, I will ensure I resolve the issues of Ext 9 and 10, sort out the title deeds mess and the problems around Emarasteni, Eastbank and Westbank and treat them as single entities with their unique issues,” Mkhonto said.
But he is mindful of the fact that resolving all these issues in Ward 105 would need the DA to govern the City of Johannesburg. “With the DA governing the City, I can easily resolve all these problems that have bogged the ANC over many years and I can assure the residents of Alexandra that I will double-up in what I have done for them over the years.”
