Joburg mayor’s death a blow for ANC
Tragedy hits ruling party as heavyweights are on charm offensive to woo voters
The ANC’S plans to win the City of Johannesburg outright was thrown into disarray last night following the tragic death of incumbent executive mayor Jolidee Matongo in a car accident.
Matongo earlier in the day accompanied President Cyril Ramaphosa and Gauteng premier David Makhura to woo voters in Soweto ahead of the crucial local polls, scheduled for November 1.
Sunday World understands that Matongo died on the scene on the Golden Highway, at the corner of Wimbledon road.
Eyewitnesses say that Matongo’s BMW X5 was trying to avoid a pedestrian who was crossing the road when it hit a Nissan NP 400 bakkie.
Matongo was apparently sitting in the back seat of the car while being driven by his two protectors, who survived the accident. The pedestrian also died on the scene.
Johannesburg Metro Police Department spokesperson Wayne Minnaar said: “The accident happened at around 7:30pm and it was a head on collision. There is a pedestrian who also died. Two passengers in the BMW were taken to the hospital. At the moment, we can’t confirm how the accident happen. We cannot reveal the name of the deceased until the next of kin is informed.”
Before his election as mayor last month, the 46-year-old from Dube in Soweto was the City of Johannesburg’s mayoral committee member for finance.
This is the second blow to the ANC in the region following the death of Matongo’s predecessor Geoffrey Makhubo in July due to Covid-19 complications.
Ramaphosa, Matongo and Makhura descended on Nomzamo informal settlement to conduct a door-to-door campaign, where the president met a hostile reception from community members angry with lack of electricity. Scores of residents in the country’s biggest township took to the streets in July over debt owed to Eskom. Large sections of the township owe Eskom billions of rand for electricity. Residents want to pay a flat monthly rate of R150 for electricity. Ramaphosa promised Sowetans that their electricity issues would be addressed. “We are raring to go. The ANC lives and it is to be found among our people. Together we work to resolve the challenges confronting our communities,” Ramaphosa told the residents.
He was also scheduled to campaign in Chiawelo, his hometown and Thokoza Park for a community meeting. Last week, Malema criss-crossed Gauteng, holding rallies in Tshwane, Alexandra, Sedibeng, Ekurhuleni and Soweto.
In 2016, the ANC lost the municipality to a coalition of the DA and the EFF. The coalition collapsed after relations soured between the two parties, which saw the governing party regaining control of the municipality. Since then, the DA has lost ground in Joburg owing to the exodus of its black leaders.
Today, ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe takes the party’s campaign to ethekwini municipality, the organisation’s biggest in terms of numbers. The divisions caused by the criminal charges against the region’s senior leader and former mayor Zandile Gumede and the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma threaten to erode the party’s support.
Zuma has since been released on medical parole, which the leadership of the party in that province welcomed with relief. The EFF has made it clear that it has set its sights on running ethekwini. “ethekwini is ours. The first metro we are watching now, the biggest metro we are watching to take 100% directly is ethekwini. We are not playing there,” Malema said last month.
The ANC has also deployed its heavyweights in the area, including Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-zuma.
The ANC in 2016 comfortably claimed Kwazulu-natal’s economic hub with 56% of the vote. The DA made the most gains, seeing its portion of the vote climb to 27%. The IFP will launch its manifesto in the city at the end of this month.
The red berets also deployed its second in command Floyd Shivambu to Nelson Mandela Bay. The metro is expected to be one of the most highly contested metropolitan municipalities in the local government elections.
In the 2016 polls, the DA won the council with 46.71% of the vote. The ANC was second with 40.92% and the EFF third with 5.12%.
Steenhuisen used the weekend to consolidate the party’s support in the townships of Western Cape, the party’s stronghold. Yesterday, he visited Langa, along with the party’s Cape Town mayoral candidate, Geordin Hill-lewis.
Today, the DA leader will be on a walkabout in Joe Slovo township, Milnerton. The official opposition will launch its manifesto on Saturday.
DA head of policy Gwen Ngwenya told Sunday World that the manifesto would place a focus on getting the basics right.
“That is the priority for many South Africans – reliable water, electricity, sanitation and refuse removal. We also show in the manifesto [which other opposition parties cannot] that where we govern, we have a great track record of delivering on these commitments,” she said. “So, our manifesto is not just hot air. It’s a record of action and a promise of more,” she said.