Oupa Pilane possible mayoral candidate

The ward-17 branch of the ANC has nominated him for the position during a recent branch meeting. Members of other branches also expressed their support.

Pilane is especially known for his passion for tourism and the marketing of Mpumalanga as a tourism destination to domestic and foreign tourists.

As a tourism product owner himself – he is a director of Graskop Gorge & Bakgatla Tourism Advisory – he is very vocal on how government is not playing its part when it comes to creating an environment that makes it possible for the tourism industry to flourish. Pilane is also one of two vice presidents in his capacity as chairperson of Kruger Lowveld Tourism.

Pilane will also be remembered as the spokesperson for Mathews Phosa when he was the premier of Mpumalanga.

Though the nomination still needs to be ratified by the provincial ANC, Pilane has strong ideas on how to improve the City of Mbombela as well as the ANC. For him, economic development and job creation, especially for the youth, are crucial for Mbombela to succeed as a city.

“My worry is the high unemployment rate of our young people. They leave Mpumalanga because there are no opportunities for them. Young people ask why they should stay in the province and we have no answers for them.

“With the resources we have, it is criminal that jobs aren’t being created. If we had the right people in the right places, we would have been able to create jobs.”

South Africa’s youth unemployment was 55,75% in 2020, according to StatsSA. The City of Mbombela has a young population with a median age of 24.

Pilane said government should engage with businesses to create more employment opportunities. “To make the city work, we need to work together. Elected officials should be available to the people who elected them and they should work with the people who elected them to create an environment conducive for growth.”

He also said he would aim to create an administration that works to serve the people. “I have always had an open office policy and will keep it that way if elected.

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“What we see now is public officials working to benefit themselves. There is no development and they do not serve the people. They re not even paying their suppliers, who in turn cannot afford to do the maintenance work they are supposed to do.”

Pilane left the party in an official capacity to go into the private sector. Now he believes it is time for qualified people to come back to the party.

“Older ANC leaders are coming back to speak out against the current state of the ANC. When we left the civil service to join the private sector, we thought at the time it was the right thing to do. We now realise that it was not. When we left, we allowed leaders who have been implicated in serious corruption to take over.

“We should take at least part of the blame for what happened to the ANC. Things went wrong and we did nothing to stop it.”

The major problems facing the party, according to Pilane, are challenges of leadership and corruption. “We cannot allow good leaders to be pushed out of the party by leaders who only want to enrich themselves.”

Pilane said the ANC should go back to basics. He firmly believes that the party’s policy of electing leaders through its branches is the right way to go about it.

“It is the character of the ANC to elect members at branch meetings. Unfortunately, some of these processes are not being followed. Votes are being bought and people do not choose leaders for the right reasons. The result has been the collapse of structures.”

Pilane is excited about the future of the ANC, which he believes is entering a “renewal phase”.

The party’s step-aside resolution, in which people accused of wrongdoing have to step aside until their innocence has been proven, will be a major part of this renewal. In March, the party announced that any member charged with any serious offence should voluntarily step aside from their position until cleared. Those who fail to step aside could face suspension.

“The ANC must not shy away from questioning its leaders,” said Pilane.

The municipal elections will take place on October 27.