The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has condemned the disruption of government services by groups such as the Federation for Radical Economic Transformation (FFRET)‚ the Delangokubona Business Forum and the uMkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA).

ANC provincial secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli told a media briefing in Durban on Friday that the party had asked Premier Willies Mchunu and community safety MEC Mxolisi Kaunda to ensure that law enforcement agencies act without any fear or favour against those people.

“Nobody has a right in this country to disrupt governance and service delivery. No matter how genuine they may believe their concerns are … And the provincial executive committee is very firm on the fact that the government must not be paralysed by anarchy‚” said Ntuli.

On Thursday‚ FFRET members stormed the headquarters of the KwaZulu-Natal health department in the Natalia Building in Pietermaritzburg and demanded changes to the department’s procurement unit.

Police were called in to monitor the situation because some officials feared for their lives.

The Delangokubona Business Forum has been accused of using mafia-style tactics to force construction bosses to give them a stake in their projects.

The MKMVA disrupted Richmond and Umvoti municipalities last month‚ demanding permanent employment as security guards.

But Ntuli would have none of it.

“Even if they are wearing uniforms of former MK soldiers‚ anybody who is involved in disruption must be understood for what that person is. That person is opposed to the progress that is supposed to be registered in delivering services to our people.”

Ntuli said the ANC will meet MKMVA leaders on Monday to discuss the matter.

“We want to understand whether or not these people who are involved in the disruption of municipalities are truly former MK soldiers. Because it may very well be that they are not former MK soldiers but they may be having some proximity to the leadership of the MK. Maybe some were never soldiers of the movement because those who were trained to be soldiers of the national liberation movement will understand the consequences of interfering or disrupting service delivery in a democratic state.”

Ntuli said these groups should do business in a way that is permitted by law. “Nobody must impose themselves on the work of the state. Everybody needs to apply to do business in a way that is defined by the constitution and all other laws that are supporting the democratic state.”

Ntuli said the ANC provincial executive committee had also expressed concern about a video in which Thulasizwe Buthelezi‚ the mayor of Zululand district municipality‚ is allegedly seen participating in the process of determining the tenders of the municipality.

This‚ said Ntuli‚ did not only undermine the separation of powers between those who were elected and those who were appointed to run the administration.

“The PEC condemns this blatant abuse of power by this mayor and calls [the] Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC to investigate these allegations and take appropriate action‚” said Ntuli.

But Buthelezi said the video was of himself and the police removing a group calling themselves Ulundi Radical Transformation that had interrupted a tender briefing at the municipality.

“Once the SAPS [South African Police Service] had removed them I left the meeting. MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube is free to investigate‚” he said.