Opponents line up in Western Cape
The DA is confident of an easy win in the province but the PA is likely to make an impact as the flailing ANC continues to battle for a foothold
The DA remains almost unchallenged in the Western Cape in its bid to continue its dominance in the province at the ballot box in 2024. But a political opponent, in the form of the Patriotic Alliance, is emerging.
The party, which is led by politician and former bank robber Gayton Mckenzie, is beginning to win over voters as the ANC struggles with in-fighting.
The Western Cape is experiencing an influx of people who have left Gauteng and other provinces in search of better infrastructure and service delivery. In the DA’S provincial offices, the target is clear: 60% of the vote. Tertuis Simmers, the DA’S provincial leader, believes that, come election day, his party will win every needed vote, but with one catch — they need voters to show up at the ballot box.
“Just by the voter registration data of November, the success that we’ve been able to amass tells us that we’re on course,” Simmers said.
Under the DA’S leadership, parts of the Western Cape appear on paper to be thriving in comparison to other provinces. Earlier this year, Statistics South Africa recorded that the province had a 6.9% increase in employment, the largest in the country. Gauteng, on the other hand, experienced a 0.4% decline quarter-on-quarter.
One reason for the Western Cape’s improved employment is a result of the migration of people to the province. From 2016 to 2021, Statssa found that 21% of people from Gauteng formed part of an exodus of about 100 000 people who moved to the Cape — and estimated that this number will increase to 24% from 2021 to 2026.
At the heart of it all are reports in Gauteng of broken water infrastructure, potholed roads, broken traffic lights and, of course, the hours of load-shedding. In recent months, the City of Johannesburg has seen a revolving door of mayors and the metro’s finances are in dire straits. As Gauteng’s reputation for service delivery seemingly worsens, the DA is enjoying its successes in the Western Cape, which is the only province that received a clean audit from the auditor general.
Keith Gottschalk, a political scientist at the University of the Western Cape, argues that Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-lewis’ rise to power has strengthened the DA’S position in the province in areas where voters can see the benefits of its leadership.
“The DA lead in the Western Cape is so huge that the most significant
‘We are awfully aware that the PA and EFF are fishing in the same pond as the ANC because there are various [failed] coalition governments’