Khayelitsha and Delft are tired of the DA‚ says Jacob Zuma

President Jacob Zuma dancing at the launch of ANC local municipality elections manifesto. Picture Credit: Gallo Images
President Jacob Zuma dancing at the launch of ANC local municipality elections manifesto. Picture Credit: Gallo Images

President Jacob Zuma is confident that the African National Congress (ANC) can snatch back the city of Cape Town in August’s local government elections.

The Western Cape and Cape Town are in the hands of the Democratic Alliance (DA)‚ whose dominance in the only province and metro run by the opposition has proven almost unshakable.

Following the local elections in 2011‚ the DA held just more than 61% of the council seats in the Cape Town city council‚ compared to the ANC’s 33%.

Fransman bounces back‚ shakes Zuma's hand on election campaign trail

The ANC’s election campaign in Cape Town has peaked‚ with the party sending in its big guns in the hope that this will help steer voter sentiment in its favour.

On Wednesday‚ Zuma visited several wards in Khayelitsha and Delft‚ on the outskirts of Cape Town.

Speaking to the media after concluding his door-to-door campaign in Khayelitsha‚ Zuma said it was “clear that people are tired of the DA“.

“People (in the Cape Town townships) are suffering because the ANC is not in power … the people now want change and they want the ANC in power‚” said Zuma.

He said the party in the province remained united and this put it in a good position to do well in the elections.

Bitter infighting and organisational collapse in the past have contributed to a decline of ANC support in the province and the city.

The party in province was recently rocked by a sexual harassment scandal involving its leader Marius Fransman.

Earlier in July‚ the ANC’s integrity commission found that Fransman had brought the party into disrepute after being accused of sexual harassment‚ which allegedly occurred as he and his assistant‚ Louisa Wynand‚ drove to Rustenburg to attend the ANC’s January 8 birthday celebrations. The commission recommended that Fransman immediately relinquish all elected positions and that he not be considered for a public post for at least two years.

The ANC’s national disciplinary committee has yet to act on these recommendations.

Despite this dark cloud hanging over him‚ Fransman accompanied Zuma on the campaign trail.

 

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