The Gaza Movement for Change party has launched its election manifesto at Saselemani village outside Malamulele in Limpopo. The party will contest the local government elections for the first time in all wards under the Collins Chabane and Giyani municipalities.
The party was established in 2018 by former Economic Freedom Fighters Member of Parliament Emmanuel Mtileni.
Gaza Movement for Change has vowed to take over the newly established Collins Chabane Municipality. It will be the first time that the voters in the area will be participating in the local government elections under its new name.
The party’s President Emmanuel Mtileni is also optimistic of victory at the neighbouring Greater Giyani Municipality.
“For now, we are contesting in two local municipalities, Greater Giyani and Collins Chabane Municipality, you know all the people cannot wait, we should have contested Tzaneen and Ba-Phalaborwa and all the municipalities that are in the surrounding of the Vha-Tsonga clan that is where we are aiming.”
The party’s name is derived from the former Gazankulu homeland, which was mainly inhabited by the Vha-Tsonga people. Mtileni says they however welcome every ethnic group.
“Why can’t we have our own because you can see we are the ones that are putting up more votes but we are elevating people from other tribes, that is a worrying factor, definitely not that we are not discriminating. This party was established for Vha-Tsonga people but we are definitely going in a wider range, we are recruiting other people.”
The area faces service delivery concerns like access to water and proper roads. The residents are demanding to see change.
“The challenges we are facing in this area is access to water. There is no adequate water supply that is the challenge we are encountering and the other thing is our roads, they have potholes and need to be serviced,” says one of the residents.
In the last general elections, Gaza Movement for Change secured just above two thousand votes.
It has registered 36 ward-councillor candidates at Collins Chabane Municipality and another 31 will be contesting at Greater Giyani Local Municipality. –Report by Koketso Motau
