Buffalo City Metro voters faced heavy electioneering at the weekend from high-ranking members of both the ruling ANC and the official opposition DA.
It was a clear sign of how high the parties consider the stakes in the metro for the August 3 local government poll – even where historically there has been little contest.
ANC national executive committee members including Jackson Mthembu, Lindiwe Zulu, Lindiwe Sisulu, Rejoice Mabudafhatsi, Bheki Cele, Naledi Pandor and Siyabonga Cwele were sent to King William’s Town, Mdantsane, Duncan Village and East London.
They were joined by former Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) provincial leader Themba Wele.
Meanwhile, DA mayoral candidate for Nelson Mandela Bay Athol Trollip also turned his attention to BCM to help his party’s bid to increase the number of wards under its control from the current seven.
The ANC NEC members issued a stern warning in the Dr WB Rubusana region that anyone found to have cheated during the nomination process to choose ward councillor candidates would face the wrath of the ANC disciplinary committee.
The same would apply to those complicit in imposing candidates on local communities.
ANC chief whip in parliament Jackson Mthembu on Saturday admitted that in some regions of the province ANC leaders had adopted unscrupulous processes when they penned in the party proportional representative and ward councillor candidate lists.
“The ANC cannot allow the ANC to mess up its processes. Yes we admit that there is nobody in the ANC that is an angel. We do stupid mistakes.
“In some instances we did make mistakes with the issue of councillor candidates – but for now let us rally behind whoever the ANC has fielded; let us focus on the elections,” Mthembu said.
The DA’s Trollip was accompanied by DA BCM constituency leaders Kevin Mileham and Terri Stander together with local DA councillors including Khuthala Mntumni, ward 16 DA councillor candidate.
Although the ruling party may have challenges with service delivery, the official opposition would still need to treble its representation to control Buffalo City Metro.
The DA paraded its leadership from Amalinda Main Road to Amalinda Forest Park where the party had set up banners and a jumping castle for children in the area.
Trollip said the area had not changed at all from five years ago when he came to open a DA branch in the area.
“That heap of rubbish out in the open was there five years back, uncollected as it is today ,” said Trollip.
Amalinda Forest falls under the metro’s ward 16 which is currently held by the African National Congress.
ANC Dr Rubusana region campaign head Sinethemba Mashalaba said the region was “an ANC stronghold”.
The NEC members conducted door-to-door walks throughout the region, which saw some of the highly ranked members charming the young and the elderly.
Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services Siyabonga Cwele visited ANC veteran 98-year-old Nofezile Sokoyi who lives in NU5 Mdantsane.
Even though she expressed her frustration with the current leadership, she said she was still fully behind the party.
“I was born the same year as Mandela but I am bit older than him. I was born in January 1918,” she said.
Trollip said the major priorities for the DA were freedom, equality, job creation and the complete eradication of corruption in the metros.
“We are firm with our position towards stopping corruption,” he said.
Trollip said the ANC government had similarities with the apartheid government. He reminded the crowd that Nelson Mandela had instructed South Africans to vote out an oppressive government.
He said his party would continue to use the voice of the former statesman, despite ANC objections.
“Whether they like it or not we are going to use his voice. In all other countries people have national heroes but in SA we are not allowed to have national heroes because the ANC says Mandela is theirs – that’s rubbish,” said Trollip. — siphem@dispatch.co.za / simthandilef@dispatch.co.za
Top guns woo BCM voters
It was a clear sign of how high the parties consider the stakes in the metro for the August 3 local government poll – even where historically there has been little contest.
ANC national executive committee members including Jackson Mthembu, Lindiwe Zulu, Lindiwe Sisulu, Rejoice Mabudafhatsi, Bheki Cele, Naledi Pandor and Siyabonga Cwele were sent to King William’s Town, Mdantsane, Duncan Village and East London.
They were joined by former Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) provincial leader Themba Wele.
Meanwhile, DA mayoral candidate for Nelson Mandela Bay Athol Trollip also turned his attention to BCM to help his party’s bid to increase the number of wards under its control from the current seven.
The ANC NEC members issued a stern warning in the Dr WB Rubusana region that anyone found to have cheated during the nomination process to choose ward councillor candidates would face the wrath of the ANC disciplinary committee.
The same would apply to those complicit in imposing candidates on local communities.
ANC chief whip in parliament Jackson Mthembu on Saturday admitted that in some regions of the province ANC leaders had adopted unscrupulous processes when they penned in the party proportional representative and ward councillor candidate lists.
“The ANC cannot allow the ANC to mess up its processes. Yes we admit that there is nobody in the ANC that is an angel. We do stupid mistakes.
“In some instances we did make mistakes with the issue of councillor candidates – but for now let us rally behind whoever the ANC has fielded; let us focus on the elections,” Mthembu said.
The DA’s Trollip was accompanied by DA BCM constituency leaders Kevin Mileham and Terri Stander together with local DA councillors including Khuthala Mntumni, ward 16 DA councillor candidate.
Although the ruling party may have challenges with service delivery, the official opposition would still need to treble its representation to control Buffalo City Metro.
The DA paraded its leadership from Amalinda Main Road to Amalinda Forest Park where the party had set up banners and a jumping castle for children in the area.
Trollip said the area had not changed at all from five years ago when he came to open a DA branch in the area.
“That heap of rubbish out in the open was there five years back, uncollected as it is today ,” said Trollip.
Amalinda Forest falls under the metro’s ward 16 which is currently held by the African National Congress.
ANC Dr Rubusana region campaign head Sinethemba Mashalaba said the region was “an ANC stronghold”.
The NEC members conducted door-to-door walks throughout the region, which saw some of the highly ranked members charming the young and the elderly.
Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services Siyabonga Cwele visited ANC veteran 98-year-old Nofezile Sokoyi who lives in NU5 Mdantsane.
Even though she expressed her frustration with the current leadership, she said she was still fully behind the party.
“I was born the same year as Mandela but I am bit older than him. I was born in January 1918,” she said.
Trollip said the major priorities for the DA were freedom, equality, job creation and the complete eradication of corruption in the metros.
“We are firm with our position towards stopping corruption,” he said.
Trollip said the ANC government had similarities with the apartheid government. He reminded the crowd that Nelson Mandela had instructed South Africans to vote out an oppressive government.
He said his party would continue to use the voice of the former statesman, despite ANC objections.
“Whether they like it or not we are going to use his voice. In all other countries people have national heroes but in SA we are not allowed to have national heroes because the ANC says Mandela is theirs – that’s rubbish,” said Trollip. — siphem@dispatch.co.za / simthandilef@dispatch.co.za
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