ANC voters cannot complain about delivery
ON November 1, South Africa held its sixth democratic local government elections.
As expected, the ANC continued its dominance and won most municipalities, though with a lesser margin. A few are hung municipalities. Leading up to the elections, many communities complained about the lack of service delivery by the ANC-led government.
One of the serious problems encountered by communities is electricity. Many communities, including in Soweto and Tembisa, are without electricity. The president’s sister in Chiawelo, Soweto, was told by residents to call her brother and tell him to come and fix the problem in the area. That’s how bad things were.
The Eastern Cape is one of the most impoverished regions in the country. One of the challenges confronting that region is lack of water. As a result, some citizens of that province have relocated to areas where there is development.
In Hammanskraal, Pretoria, there has been a water problem for a very long time. Residents are forced to drink and use dirty water. The situation there has become normal but unacceptable. When did abnormal things become normal?
Guess what? In the recent local government elections, the Eastern Cape citizens and Hammanskral residents returned the ANC to power. This is the same political organisation that has failed them over and over again. However, I respect their democratic right to elect the party they want.
That said, the above is an indication that the governing party is not a problem; voters are. Their loyalty to the ANC is more important than service delivery. Therefore, they should not complain about lack of service delivery going forward.