Gwede Mantashe, the national chairperson of the ANC, faced rejection during his campaign in Richards Bay on Thursday. A woman he approached, who claimed her family was affiliated with Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, shut the door in his face.
The chairperson of the ANC has been campaigning in northern KwaZulu-Natal since Tuesday and has now taken his campaign to Richards Bay. The ANC has been facing pressure to improve its performance in KwaZulu-Natal after former President Zuma announced in December that he would endorse the MK party. Polls have indicated that the MK party could take a significant portion of the ANC’s voter share in the province. In the 2019 election, the ANC received 55.47% of the vote, which was a drop from the 65.31% it had received in the 2014 elections in KwaZulu-Natal. Zuma was credited for the ANC’s success in 2014.
According to an Ipsos poll, the African National Congress (ANC) is projected to receive 40% of the national vote in South Africa. As a result, the party has decided to send its entire top leadership in the national executive committee to KwaZulu-Natal. This weekend, former ANC president Thabo Mbeki and other distinguished party veterans are also expected to make an appearance in the province.
While ANC Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe is optimistic that the party will retain its majority, he received a mixed reaction in KwaZulu-Natal this week. He is known to work independently and continued with this tradition during his campaign trip in the province, only accompanied by ANC volunteers and one police van as part of his security.
During his walkabout in Richards Bay, he faced some undecided voters. Ipsos projects that 35% of the electorate are undecided.
Mpumelele Ndlela, who is unemployed, said she was still debating why she should vote for the ANC again.
“It’s been eight years since I’ve been working, I’m disappointed. I’m going to vote but I’m not going to promise that the secret vote will be for the ANC. I have always voted for the ANC but I’m still reviewing and I’m not going to be forced to vote for it,” she said.
Another resident, Sibonelo Ngubane, told Mantashe he wanted money, a wife and tenders before agreeing to vote for the ANC, adding that he wanted to live like a “fat cat”.
“I can promise that I’m going to vote for you but you won’t see me. The money must come first before everything,” he said. “I also want a tender because I cut grass, I supply and I do anything. I also want a volunteer who will give birth to a boy child.”
During a visit to a community, Minister Mantashe was warmly welcomed by residents who pledged to vote for the ANC despite the challenges they faced under the party’s leadership. One resident expressed her support for the ANC, citing their 30-year track record. She expressed reluctance to vote for opposition parties who lacked any experience in government. According to her, opposition parties often made false promises while the ANC had a proven track record of delivering on their promises. She stated her intention to vote for the ANC because she trusted that they would deliver on their promises.
Mantashe said that although the ANC had made mistakes, the lives of people had changed since 1994.
“The children are getting grants, they go to school for free, they are being fed at school and they go to university for free,” he said.
“We admit that we have made mistakes. In the last 30 years, we didn’t just lead but we have been learning, we accumulated knowledge and experience. We want to use that and that’s why we are saying vote for the ANC.”
