DA’s Ntsekhe believes Ekurhuleni can be won over
REFILOE Ntsekhe, the DA’s mayoral candidate for Ekurhuleni, believes the ground is ripe in the industrial city for an alternative government.
In 2016, the ANC received 48.88% of votes in Ekurhuleni. Because it did not win an outright majority, it has run the city for the past five years in a coalition partnership.
The DA had obtained 34.43% of votes in Ekurhuleni. For the DA to take over the metro, they would need to close a gap between it and the ANC.
Ntsekhe, a DA member of the provincial legislature, believes this is possible as many residents are disgruntled with poor service delivery.
Ntsekhe seemed optimistic that her message to residents had won some of them over, especially in townships such as Tsakane and Duduza.
“The ground is ripe. People want to know that when you say you are going to get things done, you are not making frivolous promises,” she said.
“I also say to people that Cape Town did not happen overnight, so I will take the people on a journey where we ultimately have a Midvaal or a Cape Town.
“Wherever I’ve gone, where you would have said this is an ANC stronghold, we had more party agents than the ANC has. People were telling the candidate that ‘hey, we are voting for you’. This would have never happened a few years ago.”
Ntsekhe met residents of Kempton Park’s industrial neighbourhood in Spartan yesterday.
She said what plagued the municipality was corruption and the lack of qualified civil servants who could work to solve the electricity problems.
Ntsekhe said if the DA succeeded in gaining enough votes, she would ensure that key issues such as water, electricity and sewerage concerns were dealt with.
“The crux of the matter lies in the finances of the municipality. I have been talking about the electricity issues in the city because I think it is the catalyst to ensuring that the metro works and attracts business.
“We also need to talk about the water issue, because no one wants to build a business in an area without water. No one wants to build a business where trucks struggle to drive because of potholes.
“The stormwater drainage in this city is also an issue. I cannot remember the last time maintenance was done to the system,” she said.
Her message was supported by DA leader John Steenhuisen, who visited a power substation in Ekurhuleni yesterday afternoon. He urged Ekurhuleni residents to vote for the party in the local government elections to end the electricity and water concerns experienced in the city.
He said power issues were driven by municipal failure to maintain infrastructure and Eskom’s unreliability.