Limpopo - “When all else failed, we tried the DA,” a beaming China Mochoeneng says in support of his decision to openly back a party shunned by most others in his Limpopo village.
The blue DA T-shirt he is wearing as he went about his chores stands out. It draws the eyes of passer byes on the dusty gravel road near his home in Juno, a village falling under the soon to be disestablished Aganang municipality in Limpopo.
“Everyone around here knows we support the DA, and proudly so. What’s the point of choosing the same people who failed to bring us change,” he asks, referring to the ANC. The ruling party still enjoys the support of many villagers here, who told Independent Media they could never turn their backs on the party “ya mokgalabjwe”, meaning Mandela’s party.
Mochoeneng and his wife Idah blame corruption for the lack of development in the village. Their taps have been dry for over a month and they are still subjected to stinky pit toilets, a situation to which they have chosen to react by changing allegiances.
“We chose the DA after looking at all the other parties, we’ve been able to meet others who also support the party and even if we might not win, we at least tried something new,” says Idah.
This week political analyst Ralph Mathekga told Independent Media that choices like those made by the Mochoeneng family were indicative of a mature electorate that was bold enough to consider a different set of options to achieve their goals.
Political Bureau