EFF, ANC gun for Western Cape

It’s an intense bid to win the voters’ hearts and minds as both ANC and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leaders target the Democratic Alliance-dominated Western Cape.

ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa and EFF leader Julius Malema arrived at the same time in the Cape on Thursday, with Ramaphosa beginning his busiest election campaign weekend programme, that will take him to four provinces up to Monday.

Ramaphosa’s trip began in Cape Town and will proceed to Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Gauteng, where he is scheduled to return to Soweto.

The Western Cape visit is more of revival mission for the ANC, which remained sidelined from power by the Democratic Alliance (DA) for years – both at provincial and municipal levels.

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The Western Cape is also on radar of the on EFF, vying for the same constituency as the ANC.

The ANC has been unable to reset itself in the Western Cape after losing prominent leaders like former provincial chairs Ebrahim Rasool and Marius Fransman.

It’s said that a non-coloured leader will never succeed to get the ANC going in the province.

The ANC has been on autopilot for years with an interim provincial structure, established to fill the gap, and tasked with preparing for the next elective provincial conference. The ANC has failed to crack the DA stranglehold on administration.

Presently, the only threat to the DA comes from the Freedom Front Plus and the Patriotic Alliance, busy mobilising disgruntled white and coloured DA voters respectively.

– ericn@citizen.co.za