Nkandla residents upgrade the ANC
THE outrage at the R246-million upgrades to President Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla homestead did little to deter the community of his home village from supporting the ANC.
If anything, the ANC received more support in Nkandla than it had in any election since 1994.
For the first time, the ruling party gained more than half the votes in the Nkandla district with 53.94%, followed by the Inkatha Freedom Party with 37.93% and the National Freedom Party with 5.51%. It is a clear indication of what to expect in the 2016 local government elections.
The Nkandla municipality has been under the IFP’s control since 1994.
Among those who turned up early to vote in Nkandla was 72-year-old Mavis Zuma, who is married to one of the president’s relatives. She was not coy about her political allegiance.
“Whatever they say about uBaba [Zuma], we will vote for him. They are just smearing his name about the [upgrades]. I’m not bothered by that. We are here to support him.
“Look, now we have a road and now we want houses. We don’t care about his house; it’s got nothing to do with us,” she said.
Nombezi Ndlovu also voted for Zuma. “I just hope he fixes our houses too,” she said. “I voted for him. I don’t care about what other people say about him — we love him.”
Even the Economic Freedom Fighters’ Nkandla branch leader, Lucky Nene, was not as critical of Zuma as his party. “I think those that gave [Zuma] the upgrades felt that it was his right . . . although there are still many questions,” he said.
Another Zuma supporter was Bonginkosi Shangase, who lives in Durban but hails from the area.
“The ANC is an organisation and Zuma is just an individual . . . even in church there are people who go astray, but the church remains the same. I will never stop voting for the ANC,” he said.
Last week, Zuma told reporters that the work on his homestead was not a concern for ANC supporters.
Of the 1 290 votes cast at the Ntolwane Primary School in Nkandla, where Zuma voted, the ANC received 1 078 (83.57%), the IFP 121 (9.38%), the NFP 45 ( 3.49%) and the EFF 21 (1.63%). The DA got 15 (1.16%) of the national ballots cast.