Former deputy president to help campaign for ANC in Mpumalanga

The former ANC and country’s deputy president, David Mabuza, has given the party in Mpumalanga his blessings to utilise the fleet of ANC-branded vehicles during the party’s campaigns.

The vehicles, which include trucks and bakkies, are currently parked at his house. Mabuza has also availed himself to help the ANC campaign for votes wherever he will be deployed to by the organisation.

The party’s provincial secretary, Muzi Chirwa, confirmed this when he addressed the media after their provincial election strategic workshop at Nutting House Lodge on May 22.

“I had a brief one-on-one engagement with the former deputy president shortly after the national elective conference and he told me those bakkies and trucks are available to be used by the ANC, anywhere we want to and at any time we need them,” said Chirwa.
He said even though the vehicles are currently not registered as an ANC asset, they are available to the organisation.

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“As a matter of fact, when Mabuza raised this, he did so as a complaint to me that it looks like we don’t want to fully use those resources. He even complained that other provinces are borrowing the vehicles for organisational work, except Mpumalanga. The vehicles are currently not registered under the ANC, but as time goes by they will be donated fully to the party,” said Chirwa. It is expensive to maintain the vehicles. He said the costs just to insure and license them might cost almost R1m.”

He also said Mabuza will be roped in to bolster their campaign trail for the next general elections.
“He will be leading other campaigns of the ANC not because he is the former deputy president, but because he is a member in good standing and the fact that he knows this province like the back of his hand,” Chirwa concluded.

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For the first time since 1994, the ANC faces its toughest and challenging elections ever.
In 1994 during the first-ever democratic elections, the ANC received 62.7% of the votes and became the ruling party, with Nelson Mandela as president.

Under Mandela’s leadership the party’s support grew to 66.4% in 1999 when Thabo Mbeki took over.
Its support, however, started dwindling in 2009 when it dropped to 65.9% under Jacob Zuma’s presidency and it continued to drop more in 2019, with Cyril Ramaphosa in the driver’s seat.
It decreased from 62.2% in 2014 to 57.2% in 2019.