Durban - The community of a ward in Pietermaritzburg that is going for the vital by-election is wishing that the elections were to happen very often following a sudden streaming in of service delivery, food parcels and youth employment.
The community of Ward 2 in Sweetwaters expressed surprise to see a huge commitment from the ANC to deliver services ahead of the by-elections to take place today (Wednesday).
The party is allegedly trying all it can possibly do to convince voters not to abandon it for the IFP during the by-election on Wednesday.
The importance of this by-election is that its outcome would decide whether or not the ANC would keep governing Msunduzi Municipality.
Out of 81 seats in the municipality that is the seat of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial capital city, the ANC is occupying 40 of them while the opposition parties occupy the rest.
Already the municipality is a hung council and the ANC kept the mayoral position after trading with the IFP, which was given Municipal Public Accounts Committees (MPAC) to chair.
If the ANC loses the Ward 2 by-elections to the IFP, it would mean that the IFP would have more power to negotiate a coalition and possibly take over the mayoral position.
The by-election is meant to fill the position that was left vacant after the death of ANC councillor Phumlani Gabuza late last year after a short illness. He had won the ward during the 2021 local government elections.
ANC regional secretary Samora Ndlovu did not deny that food parcels were brought to the area and that there is development taking place. He said all along there was no service delivery because there was no ward councillor.
“We only realised this (the lack of service delivery) during the campaign that should there have been the councillor the service delivery would have happened.
“We do patch potholes every day. We cannot ignore when people are showing us potholes during our campaign,” he said.
When asked why all of a sudden people are given food parcels as if they were not hungry all along, Ndlovu said: “People have been hungry.”
“But why are you only asking us that question because IFP also did the same. The issue of food parcels is a question that you can also ask any political party,” said Ndlovu, who said he was stressed by the by-election.
An ANC activist in the area, who asked to remain anonymous, expressed that residents wish elections could be held every month so that they could experience the kind of service delivery that is happening, which is usually not taking place.
MECs are visiting the area accompanied by trucks full of food parcels, said the activist.
“If the ward is taken away from the ANC, the party is likely to lose the municipality completely because the outcome would determine whether or not the ANC would continue to govern the city,” said the activist.
According to the ANC, the ward is also known as Themba Ntombela Branch.
While the main contenders for the by-elections are ANC and IFP, there are also candidates for PAC and EFF.
If the ANC loses the ward, it would now hope to form a coalition with smaller parties to prevent IFP from taking control of the municipality.
IFP’s Thinasonke Ntombela said if the IFP wins, the municipality would be governed through a coalition.
“If we take over the ward on Wednesday, the ANC would be left with 39 seats while the opposition parties would occupy 42 seats, which would mean that it would be governed through a coalition.
“But the bad thing is that the coalition does not work well as you have seen in Northern KZN, EFF making demands to be given Mhlathuze Municipality to govern.
“We have to work hard to win over the province to make it easy for us to penetrate most of the municipalities, especially all seven municipalities in uMgungundlovu District,” said Ntombela.
With the development currently taking place in Ward 2, Ntombela said the ANC is making it easy for IFP candidate Babashane Ntuli to run the ward when he wins. The ANC is campaigning for Nomthandazo Khumalo.
“It is hectic, as there are trucks coming in bringing food parcels to be given to households.
“There is the fixing of electricity, filling up of the potholes, the opening of access roads,” he said.
Ntombela said the IFP has encouraged people to accept the food parcels but exercise their voting right wisely.
“People have become wiser and they are asking the ANC why all along it has not been bringing development and only now they are doing it.
“They have brought lots of food parcels now as if people have not been hungry all along,” he said.
Ndlovu described Khumalo as a seasoned ANCWL politician who has the potential to win the ward.
IOL