“I feel we let down the people of the Eastern Cape when we lost Nelson Mandela Bay,” said DA leader in the province Nqaba Bhanga, reflecting on the year.
The DA’s Athol Trollip and his mayoral committee were removed and replaced by friend-turned-rival Mongameli Bobani of the UDM in August.
Bhanga took aim at those he described as “selfish individuals from smaller parties, in particular Mr [Bantu] Holomisa who couldn’t see the bigger picture”.
Bhanga said losing the biggest metro in the province was a huge blow to the party, but said the fight for control of the province was not yet over.
“In Bobani there is no visionary. It’s just a headless chicken who does not understand what government is all about.
“The current development in Nelson Mandela Bay has turned the campaign around. People are beginning to make a contrast between what the DA was doing [and] what the ANC is doing.”
This, he said, would ensure the ANC was reduced to less than 50% in the 2019 elections, resulting in the party’s long-term vision of a coalition government.
“It is going to give us a very positive contribution come 2019. It’s positive for this campaign because people are angry with the instability that is happening, in particular what’s happening in Nelson Mandela Bay under Bobani and Andile Lungisa.”
With the DA at the helm, Bhanga said he planned to prioritise municipalities and towns like the King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality, Makana Local Municipality, Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality and the Stutterheim-based Amahlathi Municipality.
“What’s happening in Mthatha breaks my heart. Mthatha was a beacon of hope for the people of the Transkei. If you can, go and fix the neglected infrastructure, fix the roads. It’s connecting people from the Cape to Durban but the opportunity there’s not utilised. There was economic activity but it’s gone.”
The DA called for Stutterheim to be put under administration after violent protest action, which affected the economy of the municipality.
“There are businesses that are creating about 5,000 jobs but the ANC is killing business potential. We have to go and maintain these jobs.”..