Tshwane residents make mark in highly contested by-election

Pretoria – It was a two-horse race yesterday between the ANC and the EFF in the by-elections contest in Tshwane townships, where the electorates reiterated the need to vote for change and a better life.

This followed an announcement by the DA that it would limit its tussle for votes to three wards based in the suburbs.

At least nine wards in Tshwane were part of 40 wards across the country where more than 145 candidates from 29 political parties contested the by-elections.

Polling got off to a slow start in areas such as Ga-Rankuwa, Atteridgeville, Winterveld and Danville when the voting stations opened at 7am. There were mostly elderly people, seen making their way to the stations to cast their ballots.

Unlike in the local government elections, there were no long queues outside voting venues. People came in dribs and drabs while wearing their masks in line with the Covid-19 safety rules.

Political party representatives had set up tables outside the voting stations where they looked up the names of those coming to vote on the roll.

The DA, conspicuous by its absence in the township-based stations, was visible by its traditional blue and white colours in Danville’s Ward 3, which was said to be a hotly-contested ward after its councillor resigned.

A voter in Ward 24 in Winterveld, Vuyo Radebe, was one of a few young people to cast her ballot. With a baby strapped to her back, Radebe expressed a wish to have an increment in the child support grant.

“I am happy that I have cast my vote and I would like to see the government increasing our child grants. I pray that the ANC should emerge victorious,” she said.

Uppermost on her mind was also a need to end unemployment, rehabilitate the untarred roads and install street lights and high mast lights.

At least 1 516 people were expected to cast their votes in ward 9, where the councillor died early this year.

An elderly woman, who identified herself as Ma Masombuka, said: “We want service delivery in our township to improve. We want reliable water and our roads to be tarred,” she said.

DA Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga said the party had made significant progress with the refurbishment of the Rooiwal wastewater treatment plant in Tshwane. Work done included repaired potholes, street lights and water leaks, and expanded road infrastructure.

The DA said its decision to focus on the three wards was a way to manage its resources that would be much-needed during the municipal polls on October 27.

Pretoria News