ANC takes 27 KwaDukuza wards, DA holds onto 3

The African National Congress (ANC) has preliminarily won a sweeping victory within KwaDukuza Municipality (KDM), picking up 5 more wards than in 2016 for a total of 27 of the 30 available.

Ward 17 (previously Democratic Alliance), Ward 5 (previously Inkatha Freedom Party) and Ward 2 and 27 (both previously independent) have all swung to ANC control.

The 5th extra ward picked up is due to there being an additional ward this year.

It is important to note that these are the preliminary results available at time of print and are subject to change during the audit and objection process at the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).

Furthermore, these are only the ward projections. The proportional representation and district council results are expected on Wednesday.

The Democratic Alliance strongholds in Ballito and Salt Rock have remained DA, with Privi Makhan (Ward 22) and Tammy Colley (Ward 6) retaining their seats and first-time candidate, Jack Abrahams winning Ward 30.

Ward 6 and 30 were both close-fought races between the DA and ActionSA. Nel Sewraj, ActionSA candidate for mayor and Ward 6 said they were disappointed by the result but proud of the work done by the party in such a short time.

“We had 3 months to get the KwaDukuza campaign together on a shoestring budget. We are really proud of the response from our candidates and the voters, we put in a good fight. ActionSA won 34% of the vote in Ward 6 and 40% of the vote in Ward 30, which show positive voter turnouts and could lead to PR seats in council,” he said.

Ward 6 DA Councillor, Tammy Colley said she was pleased with the results, despite the difficulty that some had in the voting process.

“I am obviously happy that the DA has retained the 3 wards in and around Ballito. There were unfortunately issues with the IEC, leading to many people turning away because of long queues and wait times,” she said.

There was a big loss for the DA in Stanger Manor however, as Ward 17 shifted to the ANC and its candidate, Chellappa Naicker.

This following the retirement of Madhun Sing from politics after a 26 year career with the DA.

His son, Krsna Sing was the candidate, winning 759 votes, to Naicker’s 845.

ActionSA candidate Jason Chunder finished 3rd with 356, potentially drawing voters from the DA.

By Tuesday afternoon the Economic Freedom Fighters were performing significantly better than they did in 2016.

They won 3.42% of the vote across KDM in 2016, but were showing at just under 11% for 2021. The IFP were showing a loss from 6.18% in 2016 to 4.46% in 2021.

Poor service delivery, electrical infrastructure and the lack of government schools informed resident’s vote in the greater Ballito area.

Janet and Phakamile Zondi said they hoped to see an improvement in the current government, so that more opportunities could be available to the youth.

“Right now we are only meeting 50 percent of what the country needs to see effective change,” agreed the Zondis.

First time voters Pierre Botha and Maritjie Swart said they both had a civil duty and responsibility to cast their votes and that anyone who failed to do the same had no right to complain.

“We really need change and an improvement to service delivery. If you also take July’s period of unrest into account, what did our government do to address this issue?” asked Botha.

Hendrik Khubeka hoped his vote would see more effort put into providing government housing to the poor.

“I have a wife and 2 children who I would like to provide a home for,” he said, noting that he was currently living with his employer.

Unfortunately, voter turnout among the youth in KwaDukuza was low throughout the morning when the Courier visited stations across the municipality, leaving issues of governance to their elders.

“There is a serious level of apathy among young voters,” agreed Zena McDavid, Denyse Fogg and Gayl Enerson. The trio said the future of South Africa should be in the hands of the younger generation, noting their lack of a turnout at the Ballito Library voting station.

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