The MAP16 Civic Movement in the Free State is confident of taking the control of the cash-strapped Maluti-A-Phofung Municipality. The movement was formed by 16 former African National Congress (ANC) councillors who were expelled from the party in 2018.
They have already won 10 of the 15 wards which were previously held by the ANC during the 2019 by-elections.
The ANC has reportedly failed to register candidates in the 16 wards in Maluti-A-Phofung.
MAP16 convenor, Paratlane Motloung, says they have registered candidates in all the 35 wards in Maluti-A-Phofung.
“So, this certainly means even with the 19 wards where they managed to register we are still going to contest and it means for us we are very confident in winning this municipality if the situation still stays the same,” says Motloung.
Service delivery challenges in Maluti-a-Phofung municipality:
Meanwhile, the ANC’s Interim Provincial Committee in the Free State has conceded that internal strifes at branch levels have compounded the situation.
Spokesperson, Oupa Khoabane, has also blamed the incorrect capturing of Identity Document numbers on the IEC database.
“You had a lot of disputes. We had to run disputes up until the last day and in the same areas in some wards we couldn’t complete those disputes. That’s why we are saying we are going to go on with them. So, therefore says in the process of also capturing a lot of issues you then have to have such a situation where things like IDs will be incorrectly captured,” says Khoabane.
Ongama Mtimka on Municipal Elections 2021, ANC’s failure to meet the IEC registration deadline:
