from DION HENRICK in Cape Town
CAPE TOWN, (CAJ News) – THE ruling African National Congress (ANC) faces yet another mammoth task in gaining control of the Western Cape Province in the upcoming local government elections.
The province has proven out-of-reach for the governing party since the advent of democracy in 1994.
Then, it was dominated by the now-defunct National Party. In the later years, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has turned the province into its fortress.
On Thursday, ANC president, Cyril Ramaphosa, took his campaign to the south-western coast eager to convince the electorate to vote for the liberation movement in the November 1 elections.
While the leader was upbeat during his campaign, in the town of Atlantis located 40 km north of the Cape Town, history and the current divisions afflicting the ANC suggest the party will again play second fiddle.
Atlantis, a predominantly Coloured town, is synonymous with unemployment, lack of housing and crime is always high.
Ramaphosa assured attendees to his campaign rally if elected into office, his party would address these woes.
He premised his campaign in Atlantis on Cape Town having arguably the most glaring social and economic disparities in a country infamously recognised by the World Bank in 2020 as the most unequal country in the world.
“If you want change here, go out in numbers and vote. If you don’t, things will remain the same,” Ramaphosa told residents that attended his rally.
“Houses are needed here, not shacks,” he said of the informal dwellings adjacent to his makeshift rally venue.
“As such, go out and vote so we can fix this place. This place is neglected and continues deteriorating.”
Western Cape is a stronghold of the DA since the demise of the National Party.
The party collapsed in 1997.
In what reads like a rarity, ANC had control of Cape Town and the province in the early to the mid-2000s.
In the 2006 municipal elections, the liberation movement prevailed 40,24 percent over the DA, which garnered 39,28 percent of the total vote.
However, the DA has been dominant in subsequent polls.
Geordin Hill-Lewis – DA City of Cape Mayoral Candidate, offered a tongue in cheek welcome to Ramaphosa.
He lauded Cape Town as the best-run city in South Africa.
“In these final days before the election, we will do whatever it takes to protect the residents of Cape Town from the disaster of an ANC return to power here,” Hill-Lewis declared.
According to the DA, Cape Town will be a two-horse race between the party and ANC.
Hill-Lewis claimed the ANC was banking on the help of other parties.
He alluded to a possible an ANC coalition with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
“If we allow the small party Trojan Horses to smuggle the ANC back into power, Cape Town will go the same way as every ANC-governed city,” Hill-Lewis concluded.
– CAJ News