Khayelitsha independent candidate could win thanks to potholes, sewage and clinic closure
For some Khayelitsha residents in Ward 18, the upcoming local elections represent a chance to elect an independent candidate they can hold accountable instead of being let down by party loyalty and deployment.
Besides the stench of sewage, Ward 18 in Khayelitsha is riddled with potholes, the community’s most easily accessible clinic has been closed and there are far too few job opportunities.
“The smell of the sewage isn’t that bad,” said Luvuyo Maqula, who lives in Ward 18. It’s “not that the [sewage] smell is better, we’re just so used to it that it doesn’t bother us as much as it initially did”.
Nokuthula Mkuyana, who lives in a formal house in Ward 18, said refuse collection was a problem. “We have water and electricity, but the streets are just filled with sewage. If it’s not the sewage, it’s the potholes...”
According to the 2011 census, about 26,118 people live in the ward.
“Even a simple thing such as knowing you’ll take your child to the nearby clinic doesn’t exist for us any more, because we have to travel even further for healthcare,” said resident Babalwa Maqokolo.
Residents said the only clinic in Ward 18 has been closed for three years because of a blocked drain. In the space where the clinic used to be is a community hall and a small white container stall where fruit and vegetables were sold. “That person had to close their business because of the sewage that runs in front of the container,” said Bathandwa Gali, a community leader.
Asked how the current councillor, Ntomboxolo Kopman, responded to their grievances, residents said “she doesn’t care”.
Kopman, an ANC councillor, is running again in Ward 18. But the handful of residents that DM168 spoke to said they do not want her back in office. In the 2016 local government elections, 71% of the votes went to the ANC.
“This ward councillor that we’ve had for the past five years has been useless, so it doesn’t make sense to vote for her again, so she can do what?” said Gali.
When DM168 contacted Kopman to ask about residents’ grievances and the closure of the clinic, Kopman asked for the queries to be sent via text message. These and further calls were not responded to.
When the ANC came to campaign in the area, many residents told the campaigners they wouldn’t be voting for Kopman, said resident Thobeka Nokhwe.
“We know that the ANC took us out of apartheid, but when someone isn’t doing a good job, you need to let go of them. Even when you watch football, if your team keeps losing, then change the team,” said Gali.
Gali and other residents have often had to volunteer to fix potholes or pay someone to do it, but the community can only do so much.
Disappointment with service delivery has led to them saying that, come 1 November, they will be voting in Nolubabalo Mtshalala, an independent candidate.
Mtshalala is a community leader who works with domestic abuse survivors. In 2016, she was among the 15 women honoured by the City of Cape Town’s Social Development and Early Childhood Development Department for their work.
“The ANC has failed us … that’s why the community, which has seen me demand better service delivery, wanted me to stand as an independent candidate,” she said.
Mtshalala has vowed to prioritise the community’s grievances, which are mainly about the sewage, the lack of a clinic and ensuring that young people get access to job opportunities.
Other candidates contesting the ward are Nondumiso Mvinjelwa from the DA and Mbulelo Dwane from the EFF.
In the 2016 local government elections, the DA got 13% of the vote and the EFF 10%.
On whether Mtshalala’s run will make a dent in the votes for the ANC in the ward, elections analyst Wayne Sussman said: “Every time there are elections, you’ll hear of people leaving the ANC for the DA or going independent, and that rarely affects the parties.
“But if someone who is in good standing in the community goes independent, then that could have an impact on how the community votes.”