Cape Town - In a last push for votes ahead of Wednesday’s general election, the ANC and DA held their final election rallies in the province to lure voters on Sunday.
The ruling and opposition parties in the Western Cape made big promises to voters, saying they would improve service delivery if elected.
The ANC deployed Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga to Khayelitsha, where the party held a mini-rally and also met the Codeta Taxi Association and other taxi bosses who pledged their support for the party.
Asked if her deployment was because the ANC in the province was struggling to win the confidence of voters in places like Khayelitsha, Chikunga said that the leadership was deployed across the country.
“We want to win decisively in these upcoming elections so that we can defend the political power that we have,” she said.
“It’s one of the pillars of our struggle today, that of defending the political power that we have as South Africans in particular as Africans in general, in fact as blacks in general and Africans in particular.”
The ANC also welcomed back Codeta chairperson Nceba Enge, who earlier this year left the party to join Marius Fransman’s People’s Movement for Change (PMC).
“Codeta is throwing our support to the ANC, and we urge all our members, taxi owners and drivers to support the ANC,” said Enge.
“I have decided to leave the PMC after realising that the ANC is the only party that can rescue us in the Western Cape, as the taxi industry.
“I have no issues with the PMC, but it is my belief that the ANC will make the change that we need in the province,” Enge said.
On Saturday, the DA held its final rally in Belhar, urging its supporters to vote and keep the party in power in the Western Cape.
“Over the last nine months, we have criss-crossed the province many times, meeting thousands of voters to share with them the DA’s track record of delivering for all the people of the Western Cape,” said DA premier candidate Alan Winde.
“The Western Cape has the lowest unemployment rate in South Africa – more than 10 percentage points lower than the national unemployment rate of 32.1%.
“The Western Cape works. And we want to continue to build on our successes and deliver on our commitment to create more jobs, build safer communities, and end load shedding in the Western Cape.
“We are not taking any vote for granted, as we work day and night to ensure we retain our majority in the Western Cape.”
According to a survey conducted by the African Innovation Research SA (AIRSA) into the anticipated national voting patterns of South Africa’s electoral constituency in the Western Cape, the DA holds onto a leading margin at 46%, with the ANC and EFF at 22.3% and 8.7%, respectively.
Political analyst Dr Sam Webber, from Nelson Mandela University, said the chances of the ANC getting the required votes to win the Western Cape were very slim, and the DA might not get the expected results.
“There are a number of things at play here.
“Fransman has taken a lot of the DA’s supporters and also Gayton McKenzie [Patriotic Alliance]. In fact, all these small parties will be a threat to the DA.
“Maybe the DA might win again, but with the help of other parties, through coalitions.
“As for the ANC, things don’t really look promising. The party in the province has faced a number of challenges, and its campaign hasn’t been that strong”
Former president Jacob Zuma of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MKP) left many of his supporters disappointed over the weekend, as he was also set to campaign in the Western Cape.
Zuma was to address the Shekinah Healing Ministries (SHM) in Philippi. However, he didn’t show up.
MKP leaders said that Zuma’s flight from the Northern Cape had been delayed. Last week, the Constitutional Court found that Zuma was not eligible to stand in the election.
The SHM, led by Apostle Mohlala, also joined the PMC just after its formation. However, he left the party, saying he didn’t agree with some of its policies.
zolani.sinxo@inl.co.za