DESPITE most municipalities failing to deliver basic services across the country, the governing ANC says it will push to win back power in Tshwane during the upcoming Local Government Elections in November, the party’s head of elections Fikile Mbalula said on Thursday.
Mbalula said the party will launch its election manifesto in Tshwane on 27 September.
He was addressing the media on the party’s readiness for the upcoming polls.
“The ANC will launch its Election Manifesto in Tshwane on Monday the 27th of September 2021 . The weekend of the the manifesto launch will be preceded by community engagements led by President Ramaphosa and the leadership of the ANC reflecting on the past five years of local government,” said Mbalula.
“In compliance with Covid-19 protocols and regulations, the ANC Manifesto Launch will be held in Tshwane with only 500 people in attendance. The manifesto launch will be followed by the roll out of localised manifesto launches in the Metro’s and the rest of the local municipalities. Our Ward Councillor Candidates will also be rolling out Ward based Manifesto launches responding to ward based service delivery plans and specifically aligned to the main Manifesto. In this way the ANC will once more be given impetus to its rallying call that “Peaople Shall Govern”.”
He said the party will push to win back control of Tshwane after losing it to the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in 2016.
In the previous local government elections in 2016, DA took 43% of the vote compared with the ANC’s 41% in Tshwane, the municipality that includes Pretoria.
It was the ANC’s worst electoral performance since it was elected to power at the end of apartheid and the replacement of white minority rule by democracy in 1994, and the first time since then that it had lost control of the capital.
Mbalula said the party would also fight to regain control of the City of Joburg and Ekurhuleni.
“This year, 2021, the ANC will be going back to communities to ask for the renewal of its democratic mandate in order to continue with the task of making our communities safer and even much better. Our 2021 local government elections programme is firmly on track and in full-swing,” he vowed.
“The manifesto launch will be followed by the rollout of localised manifesto launches in the metros and the rest of the local municipalities.”
Mbalula is confident that the party will be able to meet the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) deadline of submitting election candidates.
“Whilst the deadline for the candidate selection process was set to be Saturday, 11 September 2021 at 11h00, the ANC had issued a directive that the dispute resolution process shall continue post the election date on 01 November 2021,” said Mbalula.
“All our structures worked around the clock to meet the set deadline for the candidate selection process and we are more than satisfied with the progress in this regard.”
The IEC’s decided to re-open the voters’ and candidates’ registration processes after the Constitutional Court ruled that elections should be held between October 27 and November 1.
“We are satisfied that all our processes are proceeding according to schedule and will meet the timelines as set out by the Independent Electoral Commission,” said Mbalula.
- Inside Politics
