VEREENIGING – As the clock ticks ever closer to the anticipated tight battle for votes in the 2024 general and provincial elections, political parties have begun to put plans in place to win the hearts and minds of millions of South African voters.
Recently some opposition parties hoping to unseat the African National Congress (ANC) held a two-day conference to find ways of working together following the 2024 elections. The parties include the Democratic Alliance, ActionSA, Inkatha Freedom Party, Freedom Front Plus, United Independent Movement, Spectrum National Party and the Independent South African National Civic Organisation.
The governing party has also been making moves to try and win the confidence of the electorate, especially in Gauteng. This past Saturday, 19 August 2023, the ANC’s National Working Committee (NWC) top brass, led by the party’s Deputy General Secretary, Nomvula Mokonyane, Treasurer General, Dr Gwen Ramokgopa, Thandi Modise, Mzi Khumalo and Mbali Hlophe visited Sedibeng to, in the words of Mokonyane, “motivate the regional leadership to go out and work and reconnect with communities.”
The Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) is the biggest local authority in the Sedibeng District and has been an ANC stronghold for many years. However, the party only managed to get a total 39.17% of the votes in the 2021 local government election, which is almost 17% lower than its previous showing in 2016. To claw back support, the party has been hard at work trying to clean up its image – including evaluating its structures.
“The purpose of this visit is the implementation of the ANC’s Programme of Action. We are visiting all regions in Gauteng and today we are in Sedibeng. We are looking at effecting our commitment towards renewal and rebuilding the ANC. This speaks to the evaluation of our structures as to their functionality, looking at areas of governance and most importantly giving every leadership of every ANC region the motivation to go out and work and reconnect with communities,” Mokonyane said.
Speaking to Sedibeng Ster on the sidelines, Mokonyane said the visit was not just about the upcoming elections.
“The ANC is not just a party fighting elections; it is an organization that seeks to eliminate poverty, unemployment, and inequality. We are quite delighted to come to Sedibeng. If you can still remember for over a period of four years, we didn’t have a Regional Executive Committee (REC) in this region, but now we have one. This is an indication that the seed is growing,” she said.
Jason Mkhwane, Regional Secretary weighed in on the remarks made by Mokonyane.
“We are looking forward to fruitful engagements with our own structures. The ANC is the oldest structure of the revolution movement. Where there are problems the organization draws from its own wisdom, diagnoses itself, and comes up with a way forward,” he said.
