/ 30 June 1999

NO REFERENDUM IN BUSHBUCKRIDGE: PREMIER

NORTHERN PROVINCE premier Ngoako Ramatlhodi on Wednesday rejected calls by the opposition for a referendum in Bushbuckridge on whether the region’s provincial borders should be redrawn. Dismissing the United Democratic Movement call for a referendum as a “non starter”, Ramatlhodi told the legislature that overwhelming support for the African National Congress by voters during the June 2 election proved they were happy with the region’s current borders. “The ANC’s support in Bushbuckridge was actually higher than the provincial average. Instead of declining, we won 93 percent of the vote in Bushbuckridge south and 91,9 percent in Bushbuckridge central,” he said. Ramathlodi added, “The matter is therefore closed as far as we are concerned.”