Johannesburg – The ANC’s election head Fikile Mbalula says the party is working tirelessly to regain South Africa’s capital city and other major metros in the upcoming Local Government Elections.
Speaking during a media briefing on Thursday, Mbalula said the ruling party has reflected its past five years of local government and it seeks to work on its previous flaws.
“Our manifesto will be learning from past mistakes, as we lost the Tshwane, Johannesburg, Nelson Mandela Bay and Cape Town,” Mbalula said.
Mbalula said the party will bid with Tshwane residents to give the ANC the majority rule in the city.
“We are going back to Pitori (Tshwane) the city we lost in the hands of the coalition by EFF and DA,” he said.
He also added, “We are not governing in Cape Town, so local government is not easy, we have to deal with the fact that ANC lost power in many areas.”
The ANC will launch its Election Manifesto in two weeks’ time on 27 September 2021 in Tshwane, led by its party’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa.
Amid Covid-19 protocols and regulations, the ANC Manifesto Launch will allow 500 people in attendance.
The party says the manifesto launch will incorporate a localised manifesto launched in the Metro’s and the rest of the local municipalities.
Mbalula said the party view local government as an important layer of governance, as it provides democratic and accountable government for local communities.
“This year, 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,” Mbalula addressed.
When asked about internal issues involving the party’s decision to expel its top brass members and inability to pay staff, Mbalula responded, “All matters will be attended to until outstanding matters have been resolved.”
This comes after ANC’s expelled Carl Niehaus said he is not the only ANC staff member intimidated by the ANC.
Niehaus has also accused the ANC of using his dismissal to intimidate aggrieved staff.
“We will not reveal the identity of the other staff members in order to protect them in the face of the severe intimidation and illegal actions that our employer has engaged in,” Niehaus said on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the party’s ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe confirmed that late Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Hlengiwe Mkhize did not die of Covid-19 related illness.
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