ANC regains ward 93 in by-election

NEW ward 93 councillor Thando Pimpi wants to stabilise the ward, which was previously plagued by violent protests after former councillor, Ntombebala Mquqwana, had refused to resign.

During Wednesday’s by-election, Pimpi received 69% of the votes. “What has encouraged us is the trust from the ANC upper structures who listened to the people’s grievance and were able to intervene. We had always had trust that this matter will be resolved. While working hard, we had differences with our alliance partners who decided to start their own thing after the previous ward councillor was asked to step down,” said Pimpi.

He said his ward was faced with challenges, including youth unemployment and service delivery. ANC provincial secretary Faiez Jacobs said they had not listened to the will of the people in ward 93.

“This by-election demonstrated that the ANC has the capacity to self-correct; to listen to our local communities. This by-election is symbolic of our willingness and our determination to deal with the wrongs in the ANC. For us to win the ward shows that people have faith in the ANC.

We are pleased that the community have given the ANC a chance. We want to express our appreciation to that community,” he said.

In a statement, the Dullah Omar Region said: “The confidence voters have in the ANC is brought by the sense that they want changes in their City of Cape Town because the (DA) has subjected them.

“People who live in Khayelitsha, Nyanga, Philippi, Mfuleni, Heideveld, Manenberg among others continue to be deprived services that are given to the rich and leafy suburbs like Constantia and Pinelands.”