Durban – With 22 days left before South Africa’s local government elections, the ANC’s campaign trail headed into western KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday, to Impendle, in the Moses Mabhida region, where residents said that jobs and proper roads were much needed.
The ruling party’s support base in Impendle, however, is strong, according to its local elections coordinator, Phendukile Mtolo, who said the people of the area “know that the ANC is home”.
Mtolo said the residents of Ward 3 in Impendle have access to water, electricity and RDP houses, but the state of the roads in the area remained a problem, which is located in a mountainous region of western KZN, around 50 kilometres away from the Drakensberg.
ANC local government elections cordinator in ward 5 in Impendle, western Kwazulu-Natal, Phendukile Mtolo says that the roads in the area are the only concern for residents in terms of service delivery. @IOL @ANCKZN pic.twitter.com/Nl2BcXUPfz
— Jehran Daniel (@JehranD) October 9, 2021
“The people of this area will support the ANC because there are volunteers here who are supporters of the ANC. The volunteers have homes here, so if you have that many volunteers, it is said that the ANC is popular in this area.
“In this area, we have an issue with the roads. Because we have water in this area, we have RDP houses, we have electricity, all of these things from the government. So the issue is the roads. In the coming days, we will engage with the Department of Transport to send us a contractor,” he said.
The majority of residents who came out to support the party were women, most of whom were ‘gogos’ who wore the ANC colours with pride.
A young woman from the area, Thando Hlongwane, from Ward 3, said the ANC was trying to give people what they needed, but access to water and roads remained problematic. She said the area also faced a lack of employment opportunities.
“They are trying, I must say that. They are trying to give us what we need. Mostly the people need water, electricity, RDP houses and roads. The roads are not good. Some of us are young, we are not working, we are staying at home,” Hlongwane said, adding that she would like to work for the Impendle municipality.
ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe was supposed to visit the area, but cancelled for unknown reasons. Provincial secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli was supposed to address the community in Mantashe’s place, but he too rescheduled.
Political Bureau