Da leader Mmusi Maimane has urged voters in the Metsimaholo municipality to "kick the ANC out of the municipality for good".
DA leader Mmusi Maimane has urged residents of the Metsimaholo municipality to kick the ANC out of power there once and for all when they vote in the upcoming by-elections.
Twenty-one wards will be contested for on Wednesday. This after the municipality’s former coalition government was dissolved in July.
“On Wednesday you, the people of Sasolburg, Deneysville, Kragbron and Oranjeville, can choose a local government that works for you – that puts every cent of the budget into your communities and not into the pockets of the corrupt,” Maimane said at a party rally on Saturday.
A coalition between the EFF, DA, the FFPlus and the Metsimaholo Civic Association (MCA) collapsed when mayor Sello Hlasa, from the MCA crossed over to the ANC.
Maimane said while the by-election could go either way between the ANC and the DA, he encouraged voters to “kick the ANC out of the municipality for good”.
Coalition
He said if the people stayed away from voting stations, Metsimahholo would go back to the ANC and the people would continue to suffer.
“Trust me, the ANC will not let go here easily. We have already seen that they will use every dirty trick in the book to try to take back Metsimaholo. Why else did Premier Ace Magashule suddenly announce a whole string of government projects in the municipality, right before the elections?”
Maimane accused Magashule of deliberately undermining the will of the people by turning the mayor against the coalition.
“They got mayor Sello Hlasa, from the 5% MCA, to pull out of the coalition, replace all DA MMC members and try to push through a budget that had no benefit to the poor.”
He said there was no other option but to dissolve the municipality.
“The ANC had completely broken the pact between voters and government. They had cheated you out of the government you voted for.”
He said there were 79 000 registered voters in the municipality.
“You can’t cling to the hope that the ANC will one day save itself and start caring about the people again. That’s not going to happen – it’s too far gone already. The ANC is dead.
“If you want a fresh start, then you are going to have to go out and make it happen yourself by voting for the DA on Wednesday.” —News24