uMngeni shows how awful ANC-run councils are by comparison

The latest instalment in the long-running tragi-comedy “The ANC thinks we’re stupid”: We promise that there is no political motive in us trying to take over one of the best-run municipalities in the country.

The DA-run municipality of uMngeni (Howick) has, under mayor Chris Pappas, become a beacon of efficiency and hope in the current cesspool of corruption and collapse which is our local government system.

He has fully justified the support given to him by black former ANC supporters. That he could woo away their members in the first place, and then prove he is way better than the ANC, obviously sticks in the throats of the party’s KwaZulu-Natal leadership.

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So now they have proposed to the Municipal Demarcation Board that uMgeni be swallowed up by the ANC-run municipalities of Impendle and Mpofana (Mooi River).

The ANC claims the merger will improve service delivery and also believes that none of the three municipalities is financially viable on its own.

DA federal chair Helen Zille says – correctly we believe – that the success of uMngeni (and other DA-run towns and cities) is showing up how awful the ANC-run councils are by comparison.

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She adds: “They must prevent that perception taking hold at all costs, and are therefore looking for ways to redraw the town’s boundaries to include more voters who are likely to vote ANC. This is generally known as gerrymandering and is a serious abuse of power.”

We would go further and say this is a direct threat to our democracy because it effectively overturns the wishes of the people in uMngeni, who have said, unequivocally, that they do not want to be run by the ANC.

The worry is that, if this crookery is allowed, the ANC might be emboldened to pull other tricks if it gets slapped in the face in the 2024 elections.

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