Democracy won in Siphofaneni elections - Sabelo
MBABANE – “I too believe democracy prevailed as articulated by former Siphofaneni MP Mduduzi ‘Gawuzela’ Simelane.”
This was stated by Sabelo Ngcamphalala from Ngevini, who said before the elections, he had mentioned that the Tinkhundla system of Government would be democratic and the person who would be voted in would be chosen by the people.
“To my surprise, the former Siphofaneni MP ‘Gawuzela’ shared the same sentiments in his social media posts after the new MP was elected, but did not receive the same backlash I did when I initially made the statement,” he said.
Backlash
Ngcamphalala said he received a lot of backlash when he made the statement previously yet he was simply highlighting that the elections would be fair, which was further purportedly reiterated by the former Siphofaneni MP in his social media posts.
In a previous interview, Ngcamphalala said he was more aware of the problems that inundated his area and his love for Siphofaneni compelled him to be receptive to the idea of working with the new MP, Nomalungelo ‘LaZwide’ Simelane.
“Should it be political or developmental, I will be available to assist the new MP and work with her in this venture.”
He said development in his area was yet to be attained as most of it was at Madlenya and KaMkhweli, and the other areas around Siphofaneni still needed attention.
“People should focus on development rather than politics because there are so many issues which are not addressed if the focus is solely political. As we speak, the only developed areas in Siphofaneni are limited to Madlenya and KaMkwheli, and we have a huge water crisis where most areas do not have access to water,” he said.
“I think if we can put politics aside, there could be a lot that can be done to improve the state of the constituency and if engaged, I would be willing to work with our MP,” he said.
Hlobisile Thwala, who was the Mpumakudze candidate, said she was also willing to assist and work with the new MP.
“Ngeke ngimvalele ngaphandle MASEKAfiKILe.
“Our area has issues which I had wished to address, such as the issue of roads and clean water, which is a matter of urgency,” said Thwala.
According to Thwala, what was essential for development in her area was access to clean water for all the people which was one of the first issues she had hoped to attend to.
Tambuti candidate, Mzamo Ndwandwe, said he would welcome the newly-elected MP to his area with open arms as losing the elections did not make him bitter and did not mean that there was now bad blood between them.
“One of our main issues in Tambuti is the idle youth, and my dream was mostly to develop a skills centre for the youth where they would be equipped with different kinds of skills seeing as most of them did not get the opportunity to go to university and acquire qualifications.
“Young people are distressed in the area and lack the skills to attain jobs, so I was hoping to develop a skills centre in the area where these youth would be educated on different skills, such as carpentry for instance which would enable them to earn an income,” said Ndwandwe.
Comment
The other candidates, including Thokozani Nkambule of Nceka, could not be reached for comment, while Khetsiwe Sikhondze from Maphilingo, remained busy for the better part of the day when reached.
Previously, Madlenya Umphakatsi candidate Moshoeshoe Nkambule was quoted as having said he had no grudges against LaZwide.
“I would like to thank those who came and voted for me.
“The figures are proof that people voted for the person they wanted to represent them in Parliament. “They came in numbers and I was impressed with the recorded figures,” he said.
The new MP amassed 2 612 votes to beat her closest contender, Moshoeshoe, who got 1 031 votes while Ngcamphalala managed 391 votes.
Sikhondze managed 77 votes, with Thokozani receiving 246 votes, Thwala 44 and Ndwandwe 12.