The African National Congress (ANC) in Mangaung Metro in the Free State has thanked locals for giving them another term in office after the local government elections. Many locals raised concerns during the elections about service delivery problems. Despite the drop in seats from 58 to 51, the local ANC says the numbers are not a big concern to them. Provincial interim committee spokesperson, Oupa Khoabane, says they appreciate the gesture of confidence from the electorate.
“The drop in the number of seats is not a worrying factor, I think a motivating factor more than anything else is the confidence that the electorate has shown in the ANC that ensure that the ANC still controls this municipality of Mangaung. And we think that that motivation will inspire the ANC to improve service delivery mode and more than before. And we thank the voters for that gesture and we promise to really do more to ensure that we turn things around.”
DA to keep watchful eye on ANC in Mangaung
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Mangaung Metro says it intends to keep a close watch on council and monitor how the ANC will run the municipality.
Despite losing one seat in the council, the DA retained its position as the official opposition.
The ANC also lost support but managed to retain its absolute majority.
DA Caucus leader is David Masoeu says, “The other thing is we don’t think that ANC will change much in Mangaung Metro in terms of service delivery. The poor service delivery will continue because the same people that brought down this municipality will probably be elected again in other words the same personnel but different term.
So we are of the opinion that we need to hold them accountable as opposition party and make sure that they keep the promise that they made to the voters that they will improve things in Mangaung Metro.”
