The Khayelitsha Development Forum (KDF) has bid farewell to its chairperson, Ndithini “Faku” Tyhido, whose third term of office has come to an end.
Mr Tyhido, whose clan name is Faku, has served the KDF and people of Khayelitsha for the past 15 years as an ordinary member and later as chairperson.
He steered the KDF to greater heights and contributed to the institution’s task of ensuring the transformation of service delivery through its oversight work. He is now joining the political space as the African National Congress (ANC) Dullah Omar regional chairperson.
Speaking after his resignation on Monday, Mr Tyhido said he had been given a stern warning from the previous leaders and members of the KDF who said he must not let the KDF die in his hands.
“I listened carefully. KDF lives, KDF leads the people of Khayelitsha until today.”
He said he is proud of the work he leaves behind. He was happy to have fulfilled his vow. Now that he has passed on the baton, he is asking, who is next to take the organisation further?
Speaking about his venture into politics, Mr Tyhido said he was excited to get an opportunity to fight against the inequality in the province. Although it won’t be easy, he said it will be a good fight.
“I am doing activist work. I will fight against the discriminatory service delivery patterns in the City of Cape Town, joining the disciplined march of making the ANC attractive again in the City of Cape Town through responding to the people’s struggles,” he said.
His deputy at the KDF, Monde Nqulwane, has on behalf of the committee wished Mr Tyhido well on his new task of leading the Dullah Omar region as chairperson and thanked him for his dedicated service to the people of Khayelitsha and the country.
“He has left a big gap which we think will be occupied soon. We as the people of Khayelitsha have all to thank him for his selfless working leadership. For the development of Khayelitsha we needed somebody like him. As Khayelitsha we benefited from him. He led during the difficult times. His term had challenges to unite the three spheres of government, moreover to deal with criminals, the extortionists and the gangs. To deal with all these you must be able to lead. We need more people with the qualities exhibited by him in community service if Khayelitsha is to succeed in the fight against crime and prosper,” said Mr Nqulwane.
However, he said Mr Tyhido won’t be lost to the people of Khayelitsha. He said the KDF comes from a conference where it was agreed that all the former chairpersons should be part of it.
Talking about his new role, he said this will give Mr Tyhido space as a person before he becomes an activist.
“It will provide a space to deal with his political space and serve the people of the region. He will also be able to speak on behalf of one position unlike before when he had to be a KDF member and the ANC at the same time. We will still have him as a former chairperson,” said Mr Nqulwane.
The Alliance of Citizens for Change (ACC) leader Masizole Mnqasela weighed in on Mr Tyhido’s resignation.
The ACC leader and a resident of Khayelitsha thanked him for taking Khayelitsha to another level through his leadership skills.
“Faku, we are grateful to have you. You did a great job. It is not easy to lead and there are always analysts. We are grateful as the leadership collective and the stakeholders of the KDF. We built this organisation at a very critical time in our democracy. Those who came before me, before us, there was an idea to have the KDF. We call it a university of leadership that no existing building can teach a leader. Khayelitsha is that school. Siyabulela, Faku for humbling yourself and taking a leadership role,” he said.
He said there is still a lot of work to be done in Khayelitsha which is everyone’s responsibility.
