The African Transformation Movement (ATM) says it is determined to reverse service delivery challenges in the distressed Maluti-a-Phofung Municipality in QwaQwa in the Free State. Several political parties and independent candidates have intensified their campaigns ahead of the much-awaited by-election on Wednesday.
The ATM’s secretary in the Thabo Mofutsanyana District, Nkareng Moloi, says they are wary of how competitive the by-elections will be.
“Now we are only contesting 12 wards, we have three wards that we feel we are not ready to contest and we don’t want to play with our people and give them a false hope. Then we are only contesting 12 which we feel are best in terms of membership, in terms of people who believe in us.”
On Saturday, Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane said he will soon approach the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to request it to prosecute those who are allegedly involved in corruption in the Maluti-A-Phofung Municipality.
He said he has already laid charges against them. The DA leader says his party will not tolerate corruption.
“We want to eradicate corruption; let all those people who stole money at Maluti-a-Phofung Municipality end up in jail. So I’m here to wage a war against corruption and to ensure that we deliver services for the people. The greatest crime in South Africa has been committed by a criminal syndicate called the ANC that has gone out of its way to loot against the people.”
“Therefore we are here to say we have opened cases, we have laid charges against people. Now I will be going to the national prosecuting authority to make sure those who are here who have been looting must be prosecuted. We can’t have commission after commission without the actual prosecution itself,” said Maimane.
Meanwhile, the African National Congress (ANC) Women’s League president Bathabile Dlamini On Sunday arrived in QwaQwa to join party members on the trail campaign ahead of Wednesday’s by-election.
Dlamini, says the party is charting a path towards renewal. Dlamini says they had to take decisive action against truant members. “We have councillors that represent the people of Maluthi not themselves and we want everyone in the ANC to understand that we are all accountable and that sometimes the ANC will take corrective measures against us, and if we are loyal and real members of ANC we have to take that because it doesn’t mean that you cannot come back the other time,” says Dlamini.
Hlaudi Motsoeneng’s African Content Movement and the ATM are also expected to be on the campaign trail on Sunday.
