The following statement (issued by the NMBM Communications department) was released by Gary van Niekerk, President of the National Alliance and Executive Mayor of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality today:
The political theatrics, displayed by the Democratic Alliance and its cohorts, resulting in the Council of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, being disrupted today, must be condemned in the strongest terms.
The DA, DOP, GOOD, UDM, and ACDP hijacked a notification (for information) made by Speaker Eugene Johnson, that the Northern Alliance officially changed its name to National Alliance as per the requisite legal processes, for nefarious reasons.
Disguised as a request for clarity regarding the legitimacy of the National Alliance, the antics was intended to avoid the discussion of items related to urgent good governance issues.
It especially has a bearing on the approval of an item needed to satisfy the demands of the Minister of Finance in order for much-needed grant funding to be released to the municipality.
I cannot understand why the affairs of my political party is now all of a sudden, a matter of national concern.
When the DA was changed from Democratic Party to Democratic Alliance, it did not affect their operations in any way.
Like political parties, businesses also get company registration numbers upon registration. This does not change with a name change as the registration number remains the same as it is the same entity operating under a different name.
Therefore, no rhyme or reason exists why the legitimacy of the National Alliance should be questioned, besides narrow political agendas and to settle scores.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), the only authority on the legitimacy of political parties, confirmed the name change of the party from Northern Alliance to National Alliance in a letter dated 28 May 2023.
It reads as follows: “Please be advised that your application to change the name, abbreviation and logo of your political party was approved by the Chief Electoral Officer in terms of section 16A of the Electoral Commission Act, 1996 (Act 51 of 1996).
“Further take note that, unless your party is represented in a legislative body, you are required to renew your registration in terms of section 15(6) of the Act, before the end of January each year.”
The decision to change the name from Northern Alliance to National Alliance was taken on 8 November 2022 by the highest decision-making body of my party, the Federal Executive Committee.
The residents of this municipality deserve better.
NMB Communications
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