MBOMBELA – The ANC in Mpumalanga says it is now time to reflect on the issues raised by communities.
While the ruling party managed to retain control of each of Mpumalanga’s 17 local municipalities, it failed to achieve the 90 per cent that provincial chairman Mr David Mabuza said they were targeting. The party’s total support in the province dropped from 78,03 per cent in 2011 to 70,74 per cent.
Party spokesman, Mr Tulare Madileng, said they were happy to have won control everywhere, without having to enter into coalitions. “This will be a time of reflection,” Madileng said.
“We have to listen to all our members about their issues. We must report back to them on promises made, whether these were kept or not, so as to ensure there is no distance created between us and our communities,” he added.
The municipalities of Mbombela and Umjindi will officially merge during the first council meeting to become the City of Mbombela Municipality.
The results for the council showed that out of the 90 seats, the ruling ANC won 69. The DA increased the 10 seats they previously held in Mbombela Local Municipality by three, obtaining a total of 13 seats.
New actors had a strong showing. Where they had held none a week ago, the EFF won six seats, the Residence Association of South Africa (Reaosa) one and the VF Plus one. Where the ACDP and PAC previously each held a seat in Mbombela, their support stood at 0,38 and 0,15 per cent respectively.
Executive mayor, Cllr Sibusiso Mathonsi, said they were happy the ANC retained all its wards, remarking that they ultimately faced serious threats.
- Read more: ANC keeps grip on Mpumalanga municipalities
https://www.citizen.co.za/lowvelder/348700/anc-keeps-grip-on-mpumalanga-municipalities/
In Thaba Chweu Municipality, the ruling party’s support dropped from 72,6 per cent in 2011 to 62,03 per cent this year. The DA’s increased from 19,98 per cent in 2011 to 24,21 per cent. The EFF’s 7,32 per cent was enough to secure the party two seats, while the Bushbuckridge Residents Association (BRA) won one seat.
BRA also made inroads in Bushbuckridge, and doubled its support, winning 18,09 per cent and 14 seats. This is an increase on the 9,84 per cent which earned it seven seats in 2011. The EFF got four seats and the DA three. The African People’s Convention (APC) and COPE, each held three in 2011, but lost support. The APC retained two seats, and COPE none.
In Ehlanzeni District Municipality, a total of 441 875 votes were cast to determine the representatives in the 26 seats available on the council. The ANC won 20 seats, the DA three, the EFF two and BRA one.
Mr Sibusiso Nkosi, spokesman for the IEC, said the participation by voters was good.
In Mpumalanga 56,19 per cent of the 1,9 million registered voters turned out on election day, in comparison with the 57,3 per cent voter turnout achieved nationally. In Mbombela, this figure was 60,33 per cent with 191 535 of the 316 905 registered voters making their mark.
The municipality has 14 days from this past Saturday when the official results were announced by the IEC, to establish new local government structures.
Mr Joseph Ngala, spokesman for Mbombela, said it was not yet clear when the City of Mbombela would have its first council meeting.
- Click here to see the full election results.
