Kimberley - The Northern Cape provincial government has committed itself to working with the newly elected municipalities to ensure more efficient and effective service delivery to the public.
This comes as the office of Premier Sylvia Lucas expressed its satisfaction with the voter turnout for Wednesday's local government elections.
“The weather conditions in the Northern Cape were extremely unpleasant on Wednesday with some areas very cold, dusty and windy,” the provincial head of government communications, Monwabisi Nkompela, said.
“However, that did not stop the people of the province from waking up early to go and cast their votes.
“The sight of long queues that we witnessed at the voting stations in many parts of the Province was a clear sign and proof that our democracy is working and has matured.
“Our people heeded the call to make their voices heard in the selection of councillors who will have to address their service delivery needs at a municipal level. Indeed the message of ‘local government in your hands, make it work’ has been understood clearly,” he said.
“The government of the Northern Cape wishes to thank all the people that came out in their numbers to cast their votes. You have all shown your resilience by braving the cold weather in order to determine who your local representative will be and they will and must, ensure that your quality of life is improved.
“We will work together with the local sphere of government to ensure that effective and efficient service delivery is the order of the day in the next five years. We are confident that the councillors have received the mandate given to them by the people and that they will do everything in their power to respond to that mandate irrespective of political affiliation.
“We make a clarion call to all our people to accept the outcome of the elections and embrace it, so that our municipalities can start immediately with the business of councils.”
Meanwhile, the South African Communist Party (SACP) in the Province has congratulated the ANC and the entire Mass Democratic Movement in the Northern Cape on their election results.
“The huge voter turnout and active participation by our people is a sign of a stable and growing democratisation of our country,” said spokesperson Patrick Bosiame. “This has allowed the ANC to claim a decisive victory across all wards within the Province.
“We further want to thank the working class and the poor for showing confidence in the ANC-led alliance to continue leading our local municipalities.
“As the SACP we commit ourselves to ensure that our local municipalities are able to contribute to changing the lives of our people for the better.”
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