Gauteng premier David Makhura, just before the collapse of the Tshwane metro council, visited Laudium in early March to address residents.
Open and honest, one would think. But really? A big part of Laudium follows the Muslim faith. The festering issue of building a mosque in nearby Valhalla (ward 66) under control of the DA was not addressed. It is a giant issue.
Laudium worshippers need a mosque to save time from driving to Valhalla at lunch times for the Azaan. The ANC, at a public consultative meeting on this mosque issue over four years ago, through one of their white councillors and not a Muslim, said the ANC supports the mosque. When he started to explain why, the presiding ANC officer took the microphone away from him.
Then the building permission stalled for two years under the same officer. At the 2016 local government elections, the white supportive councillor was dumped as part of the racial cleansing where no Indian, let alone Muslim, was allowed a place on Makhura's proportional election list. Now Makhura's ANC wants to update us on anything except the Islamic Propagation Centre on donated land from the city council.
When the DA took over in 2016 the entire issue, predictably, went nowhere fast. New elections coming clearly means the ANC wants Laudium votes again. Both the ANC and the DA have let our community down.
Mohammed Yacoob,Laudium, Pretoria
Laudium Muslims need a mosque, not an existence as pawns for elections
Gauteng premier David Makhura, just before the collapse of the Tshwane metro council, visited Laudium in early March to address residents.
Open and honest, one would think. But really? A big part of Laudium follows the Muslim faith. The festering issue of building a mosque in nearby Valhalla (ward 66) under control of the DA was not addressed. It is a giant issue.
Laudium worshippers need a mosque to save time from driving to Valhalla at lunch times for the Azaan. The ANC, at a public consultative meeting on this mosque issue over four years ago, through one of their white councillors and not a Muslim, said the ANC supports the mosque. When he started to explain why, the presiding ANC officer took the microphone away from him.
Then the building permission stalled for two years under the same officer. At the 2016 local government elections, the white supportive councillor was dumped as part of the racial cleansing where no Indian, let alone Muslim, was allowed a place on Makhura's proportional election list. Now Makhura's ANC wants to update us on anything except the Islamic Propagation Centre on donated land from the city council.
When the DA took over in 2016 the entire issue, predictably, went nowhere fast. New elections coming clearly means the ANC wants Laudium votes again. Both the ANC and the DA have let our community down.
Mohammed Yacoob,Laudium, Pretoria