ANC victorious in Mohlakeng
ANC retains Ward 11 in Mohlakeng after Wednesday's by-elections.
The ANC has retained leadership of Ward 11 in Mohlakeng after the much contested by-elections held yesterday (2 June).
What was a fierce battle between the DA and the ANC these past few months since former councillor Isaac Lebopa’s death turned out to be an easy victory for the ANC.
According to information received, the DA scored 17,59 percent (203) of the votes while the ANC bagged 81.4 percent (951) of the votes.
The Herald has since spoken to the newly appointed ward councillor of the area Mosses Mtyotywa who says that he is thrilled about the outcome of the by-elections and knew that he would come out victorious.
“Without sounding too arrogant, I was confident that we would come out victorious and would retain our ward,” Mtyotwa said.
“The ANC is the party of the people and residents of the area recognized that. They came out in numbers to show their support and the numbers speak for themselves. It is through our party’s manifesto that we will continue changing the lives of the people of the area and the entire country as well,” Mtyotywa continued.
He adds that it goes without saying that there are challenges that lie ahead but says that those will be overcome through working together with the community.
Meanwhile, DA leader Helen Zille took to twitter after their loss saying that despite the ANC’s victory, the DA had a good percentage improvement in the area.
She stated that out of the 27.98 percent of people who took to the polls, 9.16 percent of them voted for the DA.
DA, ANC at war since councillors passing
Ward 11 in Mohlakeng has become a war zone three months after ANC local ward councillor Isaac Lebopa was killed.
Lebopa was stabbed to death in March this year with the two parties, DA and ANC having since battled it out to take leadership.
It was during a by-election process throughout the entire township sometime this week that the herald discovered friction.
According to DA candidate for the area Nozipho Didiza-Ndlela, she will come out victorious and will lead residents of the area in the right direction.
“There is a myth that the ANC has instilled in people’s minds that they will not get any services if they are not part of the ANC and that needs to be dealt away with, Didiza-Ndlela said.
“What I want to do is to liberate the people of Mohlakeng and let them know that they do not owe the ANC anything. If anything, service delivery should be afforded to them irrespective of the party that they support,” Didiza-Ndlela continued.
She adds that if chosen, she will implement radical changes in the form of service delivery in the area.
Meanwhile, ANC candidate Mosses Mtyotywa says that he is not moved by Didiza-Ndlela’s promises and says that he will work on strengthening the existing projects within the community among other things.
“As a resident of the area, I know the challenges that these people are facing and I am in the right position to address them as opposed to my counterparts,” Mtyotywa said.
“In my plan of action, I intend to address the issue of youth unemployment by encouraging young people to start up their own businesses. Also, I intend to fast track the existing projects such as the building of RDP houses and other projects in the pipelines which will see local residents benefiting throughout,” Mtyotywa continued.
The outcomes of the by-elections will be announced soon.
Watch the space.
