As President Cyril Ramaphosa descends to Alfred Duma Local Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, he should be careful not to allow the thin line between party and state to be blurred, writes Zukile Majova
A municipal truck full of food parcels drove into a voting station precinct during a by-election in Ward 5 in Escourt.
Before that, the ANC called the community to a campaign meeting on voting day.
These are some of the reasons why the IFP has reported the ANC to the IEC, accusing it of flouting electoral guidelines and vote buying.
Four wards were up for grabs after the IFP dismissed councillors it claimed were working with the ANC Inkosi Langalibalele Local Municipality and Alfred Duma Municipality.
The IFP retained three wards and lost Ward 14 to the ANC. IFP KZN chair Thami Ntuli said they want a rerun of the by-election in Inkosi Langalibalele.
Campaigning with food parcels on the eve of by-elections has been an ANC strategy for years.
But dishing out food parcels outside a voting station on voting day was a first.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is taking his presidential Imbizo to Alfred Duma Municipality on Friday.
And it is already being seen as an abuse of state resources to punt the ANC in a region where the party finds itself on the back foot.
The ANC, which won 37.8% of the vote in this municipality, has failed to unseat the IFP, even with its coalition with the EFF, which has 6%.
The IFP has 44.5% of the vote and can also rely on its partnership with the DA (4%) and other small parties.
This week, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Thembi Nkadimeng called on residents to attend the District Development Model Presidential Imbizo.
“The imbizo is an opportunity for the whole of government and all of society to work together towards a brighter future by unlocking blockages to integrated services delivery in line with the District Development Model approach,” Nkadimeng said.
Recent events by the KZN government in these IFP-run municipalities have tended to deepen political polarisation in the KZN north, with ANC supporters accused of attending government events in party regalia.
Caption: A truck with government number plates was used to deliver food parcels to a voting station on voting day
Photo Source: 1KZNTV
