EFF, IFP confident of victories in Jacob Zuma’s backyard

Former president Jacob Zuma’s home town, Nkandla, has been a hive of activity in recent weeks, with at least two parties being confident that Zuma’s neighbours will give them a mandate to govern.

The Citizen spoke to local leaders of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) – the governing party of the local municipality – and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).

The EFF said Nkandla voters should back them because the party prioritises the interests of the black populace.

Slindokuhle Mfusi, who is the secretary of the EFF in ward 4 in Nkandla, said come the election tomorrow, the electorate, nationally, in general, and provincially in particular, should vote EFF with the aim of removing the ANC, because corruption is rife within the governing party.

Mfusi said the extent of corruption within the governing party is evidenced in that “two months does not lapse without an ANC member deployed to the provincial government being implicated in corruption”.

Mfusi said should the red berets receive the majority vote that would see it govern KwaZulu-Natal, the party would not deploy individuals to positions of provincial leadership based on their political affiliation but would strive for a “mix” of the different political parties, while prioritising an individual’s qualifications and skills.

He said the EFF is gradually growing in Nkandla, estimating that out of the 14 wards that make up the locality, approximately 50 to 70 individuals in each ward are red berets.

Mfusi said last year one resident was built a new house by the EFF, adding that the party cannot do much considering that it is not in the provincial governing seat.

This was not the first time that the EFF built a home for a resident based in Nkandla. In 2014, party leader, Julius Malema, built a new house for a resident based a stone’s throw from Zuma’s compound.

IFP Nkandla chairperson, Sikhumbuzo Dlamini, urged the electorate to cast their vote in favour of his party in order to root out corruption and place trustworthy leaders in parliament – leader’s like the party’s Mangosuthu Buthelezi.

Dlamini claimed that during the IFP’s governance in KwaZulu-Natal from 1994 to 2004, none of its ministers were implicated in corruption.

The IFP’s priorities, Dlamini said, are universal free and quality education and job creation, especially for the youth.

He said the party is focusing on entrepreneurship in Nkandla as a way of creating job opportunities.

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