The Matatiele Municipality has been in a chaotic state of flux and discord ever since it was unilaterally re-demarcated from the jurisdiction of the province of KwaZulu-Natal to that of the Eastern Cape.
This discord gave birth to a new political party, the African Independent Congress (AIC). This party is essentially the mouthpiece of some of those who opposed this demarcation. Its relevance outside of this primary responsibility, especially at local government level, has been severely limited and its contestation of this ward and its poor performance has served only to reinforce its irrelevance. On Wednesday 13 June the DA won 25% of the vote, and the AIC 4.4%.
The Democratic Alliance has contested a by-election in this former ANC stronghold for the first time, based on on-going support in rural areas. The fact that the DA grew from having two councillors in the former Transkei prior to the 2009 Local Government Elections to 16, post-election, is testimony to the fact that more and more rural people living in communal areas are turning to the DA to improve their lives. The DA today increased its vote in Ward 8 from 77 votes in 2009, to 444 votes. This represents a growth rate from 4.1% to 25%. The continued political activity of the DA in this area drove the voter percentage rate up to over 50%, which is a very high turn-out for a by-election.
The political instability in the Matatiele Local Council, especially amongst its riven Executive Committee has served only to compromise service delivery and the citizens living in deep rural communities such as Ward 8 has felt the brunt of this dysfunctionality.
This unprecedented growth in support of the DA shows that the electorate wishes to have a more balanced political scenario in Matatiele. It is clear that the DA is considered to be the most effective “counter balance” to the failing and divided ANC.
The despicable tactic employed today by the ANC government of sending a social delivery truckload of food parcels to the community of Ward 8 on election day is indicative of the ANC’s porosity of ethical integrity. This desperate act is best described as a disgraceful exploitation of the “poorest of the poor” who need credible and sustainable health- and service delivery from the State on an on-going basis not an erratic and exploitative basis.
The result of this by-election showed that the scales are falling from the eyes of the ANC’s voting fodder and this has allowed those who can now see, to choose the DA as an alternative to the ANC.
Athol Trollip
