Parties battle for control of Mamusa

THE battle for control of the Mamusa Local Municipality in Schweizer Reneke in North West looks set to have a chilling outcome, as the ANC, EFF, Forum for Service Delivery (FSD), Freedom Front Plus (FF+) and the DA have claimed victory before elections today.

More than 20 000 people will go to the polls and cast their votes in full municipal elections after the North West provincial government dissolved the previous municipality due to acts of corruption and maladministration last October. In the run-up to these elections, most of the parties deployed their senior leaders to the small – the birthplace of the late ANC veteran and Rivonia Trialist Ahmed Kathrada – to lobby for votes.

The big guns included the EFF’s Julius Malema, the DA’s John Steenhuisen, the FSD’s Mbahare Kekana while the ANC deployed Obed Bapela and former Northern Cape premier Sylvia Lucas.

In the previous administration, the

ANC was the majority party with 11 seats, while the FSD was the official opposition with three seats.

The EFF had two and the DA and FF+ had one each.

Yesterday, ANC spokesperson Kenny Morolong said: “In Mamusa, our people have expressed their support for the decision of the provincial government to dissolve the municipal council. Our residents have indicated that despite various service delivery challenges, the ANC is the only political party that is committed to delivering a tangible socio-economic transformation in their communities with an undisputed record of effecting real change in their lives.”

As for the FSD, the party has vowed that they will become the official opposition.

Kekana said: “We only need 13 000 votes to take control of the municipality. In 2016, we contested only five wards out of nine and we ended up with three proportional representative’s seats. We did not have resources at the time. We had nothing, but we worked very hard. We spent two months sleeping in cars. I want to win a ward, not a PR seat.”

EFF North West provincial secretary Papiki Babuile said: “We have spoken to 20 000 voters who attended our rallies and they have told us that they are going to vote for the EFF.

“We are contesting all nine wards and we are going to take all of them.”

The DA, however, is hoping to improve on its 2016 performance.

Its North West leader, Joe McGluwa, said: “As a first prize, we would like to retain ward 9 and gain other wards.”