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The ANC in Mpumalanga has boosted its local government election campaign to unprecedented levels, even going sky-high to attract voters.
Premier and provincial party chairperson David Mabuza has been using a helicopter branded in ANC colours, with “The chairperson DD Mabuza is here” written on its tail, to bisect the province.
The helicopter has been used to spirit Mabuza across the length and breadth of the province since July 22 so that he can conduct door-to-door campaigns.
The goal is to woo 90% of Mpumalanga’s voters to cast their ballot for the ANC and, in so doing, set a new record.
Mpumalanga spans 76 495km². It comprises four largely rural regions and a population of just more than 4.2 million.
Mabuza has been covering four regions in a day, which would have been impossible if he was driving.
“Four regions. One day. One man,” excited ANC leaders and members have been bragging.
How much the chopper is costing the party has not been revealed. Provincial secretary Mandla Ndlovu would only say that 300 000 T-shirts – costing an estimated R15 million – have been distributed to potential voters.
Last month, business tycoon Robert Gumede donated R7.5 million and 12 new vehicles, including Ford Ranger double-cab bakkies and buses, to the ANC’s Mpumalanga structures for this year’s election campaign.
A helicopter company in Hazyview told City Press it charged R10 300 an hour.
Mabuza’s 10-day door-to-door campaign ends in Govan Mbeki Local Municipality in Secunda today. City Press calculated that at that full-hire rate, the helicopter would cost the party about R500 000.
“The chairperson is busy every day; he has been in all four regions to interact with voters. It is true that we are spending a fortune and our branches are also spending money on their own. I cannot tell you how much we have spent,” said Ndlovu.
“We just want to win the elections and reach a 90% target … the highest point in Mpumalanga elections.”
The ANC scored 78.9% of votes in the 2011 local government elections. In the 2014 general election, it clinched 78.23% of the vote.
But in 2016, the party faces a new challenge from first-time participants, including the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), the Residents’ Association of SA and 15 ANC defectors who have registered to stand as independents.
The DA remains the second-largest opposition party in the province and other smaller parties are also taking part.
The Bushbuckridge Local Municipality comprises the Bushbuckridge Residents’ Association, which surpassed the DA and the African People’s Convention – led by Themba Godi, chair of the parliamentary Select Committee on Public Accounts, who comes from the area – to become the main opposition.
When Mabuza landed in Leroro village, a ward the Bushbuckridge Residents’ Association won in 2011, he was welcomed by fewer than 40 people. In previous years, he has been chased away.
DA provincial leader James Masango said the party would investigate if government money was used to hire the helicopter.
“The DA is a threat and the ANC is using government to win votes. They’ve held projects for a long time and they’re launching them now,” Masango said.
EFF leader Collen Sedibe said: “A bird flies, but it has to come down to drink water. The premier’s helicopter lands in a volatile environment on the ground like it happened in Leroro. They can show off, but people can decide for themselves.”
Bushbuckridge Residents’ Association secretary Cleopus Maunye said: “His intelligence has informed him that we’re taking over. He is here every day.”
How other parties are getting around
. The DA’s mode of transport for this election has mainly consisted of branded Quantum kombis, buses and other private cars other officials would use.
The only DA bling City Press spotted was at one meeting in Zwide, Port Elizabeth, where a latest-model snow-white Mercedes-Benz, with loud-hailers on its roof, was seen parked next to a truck on which DA leader Mmusi Maimane addressed his supporters.
. The EFF’s Julius Malema has been crisscrossing the country in a two-car convoy consisting of a Golf GTI and a Mercedes-Benz Viano. For campaigning purposes, the party has been making use of three branded trucks, which party leaders address meetings from.
The trucks double up as stages with sound systems and lights. Malema told City Press while on the campaign trail that the trucks had been financed by a bank.
