In a desperate bit to get back City of Tshwane into the hands of the African National Congress (ANC) in the upcoming elections, Deputy President, David Mabuza who was accompanied by Gauteng MEC for Education, Panyaza Lesufi, embarked on a campaign trail in Soshanguve recently, urging residents to vote for the ANC and ensure that it was solely in the hands of the ruling party.
Mabuza conceded that they have made mistakes in the past as a party, but insisted they were committed to change and said that they were prepared go govern better and deliver better services.
Mabuza was speaking just after his walk about meetings at ward 25 Funekile and Vukosi VD’s Block V Park. He also visited ward 27 Dimakatso, where he met a score of residents who were afforded an opportunity to raise issues they faced in their various communities, this was done in a community engagement seating.
Since Soshanguve township was one of the largest constituencies for the ANC in Gauteng, Mabuza urged voters to vote for the ANC on 01 November 2021 so that the party can win back the city it lost in the 2016 elections.
While blasting the Democratic Alliance (DA) for failing to bring service delivery to the people, Mabuza also acknowledged that the ANC was open for coalition with the DA in Tshwane Metropolitan.
“I am not going to jump the gun, we are determined to win Tshwane, to have an absolute majority as the ANC but we are not opposed to any idea of a coalition when it comes our way. The DA has failed, you have seen sewerage running in the streets, children are playing here,” he said.
He was in Mamelodi twice last Friday and Monday, where residents of ward 100 and surrounding areas complained about ward candidates and alleged corrupt processes used to remove preferred ward candidates like Sipho Motshwari. Residents told Mabuza that they would not cast their votes until their preferred candidates were added back to the list.
Mabuza assured residents that all their grievances were noted and would be attended to accordingly. He said this after most residents raised issues of poor service delivery which included amongst others basic services like water cuts, electricity, poor road infrastructure, lack of houses and most of all, unemployment in their respective areas.