Publications
Partners
As the August 3 local government elections draw close, political parties are pulling out all the stops to lure voters in the Eastern Cape.
The two metros in the province, Nelson Mandela Bay and Buffalo City, are the main targets for parties.
The entire national executive committee (NEC) of the ANC descended on Buffalo City Metro this weekend while the DA conducted road shows in the same area.
The weekend political blitz started on Friday with members of the ANC’s NEC – the highest decision making body – arriving in East London to conduct door-to-doors, community meetings and visits to churches at the Dr WB Rubusana region, formerly known as the Buffalo City region.
And not to be outdone, EFF leader Julius Malema was also campaigning at the King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality in Mthatha this weekend, about 200km away from East London.
In the recent past most of the election campaign battles have been fought at Nelson Mandela Bay, where the ANC launched its manifesto in April with the DA also doing all in its power to win the Bay with intense campaigning involving several of its leaders such as Mmusi Maimane and Helen Zille.
Sinethemba Mashalaba, head of elections for the ANC in the region, said the NEC members were in the region to “do a mop-up” before the elections.
Mashalaba said the visit was a sign that the ANC was serious about winning Buffalo City Metro at the polls.
“We are confident of a victory here in BCM. We are making inroads in the coloured areas like the Buffalo Flats which were DA strongholds in the past,” he said.
Mashalaba said the ruling party was targeting nothing less than 80% of the vote in the metro and was not worried about the Mandela funeral scandal having an effect at the polls.
This after the former regional secretary, Pumlani Mkolo, was suspended for his part in the Mandela funeral scandal
Mkolo is thought to have played a central role behind the R5.9 million fraud scandal where money meant for memorial service events for late former President Nelson Mandela – who died in 2013 – was siphoned.
Also central to the scandal were former BCM mayor, Zukiswa Ncitha, her deputy Temba Tinta and council speaker Luleka Simon-Ndzele. They have since been removed from their respective positions while the matter still awaits trial at the East London Regional Court.
But Mashalaba was confident the party had moved past the scandal.
“The ANC is clear on its stance on corruption, that is why it established the integrity commission and institutions such as the Hawks. Through the visit of the ANC’s top leaders in the this region we are consolidating our support and opposition parties don’t have a chance. The Mandela scandal won’t hurt the ANC because it was dealt with by the movement and is now in the hands of courts,” he said.
The NEC deployees visited the region a few days after secretary-general Gwede Mantashe officially introduced Xola Pakati as the mayoral candidate of the ANC for BCM.
Meanwhile the DA’s Nelson Mandela Bay mayoral candidate Athol Trollip will kickstart his provincial road show campaign, also at Buffalo City today, as the ANC concluded its activities.
Trollip was also on the campaign trail at the Nelson Mandela Metro at the weekend with Maimane in Port Elizabeth.
Trollip said they were taking the fight to the ruling party and will focus their road show on communicating the DA’s message of change.
Trollip said his provincial road show was part of his responsibility as a provincial leader of the DA.
“We are fighting municipal elections right across the province. I am going to be addressing meetings and encouraging people in those other municipalities to be voting for the DA,” he said.
Trollip who has lived in East London for 13 years before moving to PE over a year ago said the city has become dilapidated.
He said the city had gone backwards under the rule of the ANC and he believes the ruling party would be punished at the upcoming elections.
“The political leadership and performance of the municipality has been pathetic. BCM has really become an embarrassment for the ANC especially its the newest metro. It’s a big disgrace. The DA will do much better because people are sick and tired of the governance there,” he said.
