Publications
Partners
High levels of unemployment and poverty in Keiskammahoek could mistake any one to think these Xhosa speaking rural communities in this Eastern Cape’s Border region are politically insignificant.
However Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu chose to launch her race to succeed President Jacob Zuma as ANC head in these villages where Zuma launched his comeback battle in June 2005 when the writing was on the wall that he would be fired by then President Thabo Mbeki.
The infrastructure in terms of roads, electricity and telecommunications was so nominal, even journalists struggled to file stories due to poor cell phone reception.
A young man who had just made a call to relatives up a tree boasting about meeting Zuma and his entourage including then Eastern Cape Premier Nosimo Balindlela, kindly advised me to climb a tree if I wanted better network connection.
After ensuring that Zuma’s VIP unit won’t mistake me for an assassin and shoot me down like a bird, I climbed the tree and noticed from the darkened branch colours that this was a norm.
This tree seemed famous among youngsters as a best spot for cell phone connections – it did not matter the network.
Indeed I yelled excitedly once my laptop connected and the story was successfully delivered and rubbed my hands in glee.
Other journalists chose to drive as fast as they could to King Williams’ Town or East London to find an internet café and file.
News hounds were chasing Zuma to the end of the earth and god-forsaken places because he had not spoken out since the conviction on fraud and corruption charges of his financial advisor, Schabir Shaik, by Judge Hilary Squires in the Durban High Court.
Zuma used the support of this branch to grow public sympathy nationwide, especially after Mbeki had fired him.
It eventually led to his return as both the president of the party and subsequently of the country.
He also returned several times to this community to bring much needed development and jobs through the Expanded Public Works programme.
The community is still relatively poor because the Expanded Public Works jobs are temporary, but the infrastructure is much better and the connectivity has improved.
Which means Sisulu probably knows something about the influence this community has within the ANC for presidential hopefuls that has made her choose this ANC branch to launch her presidential race.
Time will tell.
