Newly formed political party Hope of Residents launched its election manifesto in Mhluzi on Saturday, August 22, signalling a bid to contest leadership in Steve Tshwete Local Municipality.

Running under the slogan ‘Restoration now – forward we go’, the party kicked off its campaign with a door-to-door blitz through local neighbourhoods to engage directly with voters on the ground.

Heavyweight leadership
At the heart of the campaign is a political alliance between two prominent former mayors, Ben Mokoena and Mike Masina.

Masina has been unveiled as the party’s official mayoral candidate.

A familiar face in local governance, Masina enters the race with a promise to steer the municipality back to high-quality service delivery and stable leadership.

Mokoena, who made a brief political comeback in previous elections as a founding member of the Middelburg and Hendrina Residents Front, subsequently parted ways with his former group to partner with Masina.

Their collaboration laid the foundation for the creation of Hope of Residents.

Promises of restoration

The party leaders said that their experience in municipal affairs makes them uniquely equipped to fix broken infrastructure, boost local development, and restore public trust.

Speaking to residents during the campaign blitz, party representatives promised that Masina’s candidacy offers a proven track record aimed at returning the region to its former standard of effective governance.

With campaign operations officially underway in Mhluzi and surrounding areas, Hope of Residents is gearing up for an active race ahead of the upcoming municipal elections.