Deur Zukile Majova
The battle for the control of KwaZulu-Natal shifts to another gear this weekend when the ANC and Umkhonto Wesizwe campaign in Durban.
Both President Cyril Ramaphosa and his predecessor Jacob Zuma will be in the eThekwini metro to garner votes from different communities ahead of the 29 May elections.
The metro is facing a massive backlog in infrastructure development following the devastating flood of 2021 that destroyed its water reticulation and sewage systems.
The tourism industry has lost billions of rands as raw sewage poured onto the beaches, forcing the authorities to shut down some of them because of the high presence of the E.coli bacteria.
Abuse of funds, corruption and maladministration in the ANC-run municipality have also drained the coffers, making it difficult for the city to respond to the dire needs of ratepayers.
Some areas have been without water for the past two years.
State prosecutors are trying the city’s most famous politician, Zandile Gumede, for her role in the R320-million Durban Solid Waste tender scandal while she was mayor of the metro.
Despite this embarrassing situation, the ANC has recruited her to help lead its campaign in black townships because of her popularity.
It’s a slap in the face for Ramaphosa, who claims to be leading a renewal of the ANC and establishing a new culture in the party that is intolerant of corruption.
Gumede has been forced out of office because of an ANC resolution that compels accused leaders to step aside from public office to spare the reputation of the party.
Dozens of ANC leaders affected by this resolution, or who have pending cases, or are under investigation, are jumping ship in droves to join Zuma’s corruption-tolerant MK party.
Zuma himself is charged with soliciting a R500,000-a-year bribe from a company that won contracts in the R60-billion arms deal of the late 1990s.
The state capture report also makes him the main man behind the seizure of various government entities and the weakening of state capacity when he was president.
Despite all this, Zuma is remaking himself in the eyes of ignorant voters, claiming to be a victim of an ANC that has been captured by bourgeois politicians – including its billionaire president.
On Friday, Ramaphosa began his campaign in Ward 56, Inanda, where residents complained about crime, drugs and unemployment, and asked for more schools and clinics.
The highly contested province of KwaZulu-Natal is expected to be governed through a coalition after the elections, following the resurgence of the IFP and the recent launch of Zuma’s MK.
So, all talk is about whether the MK party will form a government with its parent party the ANC, or forge new ties with an IFP and DA coalition.
Pictured above: Ramaphosa v Zuma.
Source: Supplied
