Ndlozi slams Fikile Mbalula for canvassing for votes in ‘shacks’

EFF MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi has slammed transport minister Fikile Mbalula and the ruling party for not moving fast enough to eradicate shacks and provide proper housing for South Africans.

Ndlozi on Monday responded to a video of Mbalula campaigning for the upcoming by-elections in Mofulatshepe in the Free State. 

The Electoral Commission said it is all systems go for the by-elections to take place on Wednesday in 95 wards across the country. The elections were set to be held in March but were delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

In the video, Mbalula, who is wearing a face mask, can be seen entering a house in the informal settlement. He expressed confidence that people will vote ANC on Wednesday. 

“Shame on you, Fikile Mbalula! How completely inhuman must you be to proudly video yourself walking into shacks 26 years into a democracy? Even vowing you'll still be voted into power despite your utter neglect of the dejected black masses? The audacity shows how apolitical you are!” Ndlozi wrote.

Others echoed Ndlozi's sentiment, claiming ANC officials only visit communities when they want votes.

Gcinusapho tweeted: “Ballot boxes reach the villages in 0.5 seconds, 26 years later - water shortages, pit toilets, inaccessible gravel roads are still the order of the day! The poor masses live in abject poverty with nothing but empty promises and their pictures splashed all over the social media!”

In response, the minister denied the house he was recorded campaigning at was a shack. 

"While we do campaign and interact with people in informal settlements where people live in shacks, this was not one but an RDP unit."

He acknowledged that while millions of RDP houses have already been built by the government, the demand remains high. 

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