Durban - Former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede is hosting a prayer “for peace, unity and stability” tomorrow at the Olive Convention Centre.
In the invitation, which has been doing the rounds on social media, a message by Gumede reads: “We will be praying to God to intervene in our city after so many incidents that have caused instability and claimed so many lives.”
Last month Gumede was elected chairperson of the ANC’s eThekwini Region at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Convention Centre in what will now be her second stint as chairperson of the region.
However, the corruption charges that she faces in relation to the multimillion rand Durban Solid Waste tender have forced her to step aside in compliance with ANC policy.
A source close to Gumede said that funds to host the prayer had been donated by private donors and “good Samaritans”.
The source said that the prayer, scheduled for 10am on Thursday, is to bring hope to the city of Durban which has been hard-hit by the triple effects of lockdown, July unrests and recent floods. He said the prayer is being convened as a response to bring hope to masses that have to restart their lives.
“We have had Covid-19 and the lockdown which saw companies closing and people losing their jobs, families going hungry and then we had the July unrest which also saw further loss of jobs, and as we were trying to recover from that we then had the devastating floods.
“As much as our city is resilient, we have been hard hit, we need to recover and that’s why we need to start infusing the right spirit into the citizens of the city so that they can start being positive, working together and helping one another,” the source said.
The Independent on Saturday