Ramaphosa heads to KZN for ANC’s final push ahead of elections

With just a week left before South Africans head to the polls for the local government elections, ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa will lead voter canvassing and community engagements in the eThekwini region in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).

The ANC said Ramaphosa will be in the province on Wednesday and Thursday.

Concerns

“The programme will provide an opportunity for the president to engage directly with residents and teachers, listen to community concerns and outline the ANC’s commitment to improving service delivery and building better communities together,” the ANC said.

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Ramaphosa has been crisscrossing the country during the party’s election trail to woo South Africans to vote for the party.

ANC legacy

Over the weekend, Ramaphosa was in Soweto, defending the party’s 32-year record in government and arguing it delivered significant transformation and development.

Next week’s elections are expected to be hotly contested as service delivery issues, including the lack of water, electricity, and crime, grip many municipalities across the country.

The ANC president, who usually votes in Soweto, acknowledged the party’s missteps but argued its achievements outweigh its failures.

Trusting ANC

Asked why people should keep trusting the ANC, Ramaphosa said the party has run the country for the past 32 years.

“Well, the ANC has been running government for 32 years and the transformation that we see in our country, whether people like it or not, whether they hate the ANC or not, has been brought about by the African National Congress.”

Ramaphosa acknowledged that the party has had what he called “missteps.”

“So, people should continue trusting the ANC, because of its experience and the delivery it has brought, it will continue doing so. And of course, along the way, there’ll be missteps, and there’ll also be areas where there’s been excellence.

“And when you do the balance, when you look at the balance sheet, there’s more positive than negative. So, I always say that the glass is half full; in fact, here, three-quarters full,” Ramaphosa said.

Apartheid

Earlier this month, Ramaphosa, during the ANC’s election trail in the Western Cape, said the “spatial architecture of apartheid” remains visible across the province, arguing that township residents continue to endure inequality and inferior services compared with wealthier suburbs.

Speaking to the media, Ramaphosa said stark disparities in housing, infrastructure, and service delivery in the Western Cape remain evident nearly three decades after democracy’s advent.

The ANC leader said conditions encountered during visits to communities across Cape Town underscored the persistence of apartheid-era planning.