Pretoria - People on the ground will not be fooled by the political utterances of party leaders, who speak on television and in Parliament. So says pastor Thomas Makeke, of the Time Harvest Church in Refilwe township, where ANC mayoral candidate Thoko Didiza was on the campaign trail on Sunday.
Makeke said he was speaking on behalf of the residents because he had a better understanding of their plight. He lashed out at leaders who made lofty statements in public about better service delivery to communities.
According to Makeke, the politicians’ success stories were often at variance with the poverty experienced by residents in the township.
“Even when they speak on television about a better service delivery, we here on the ground continue to have a different experience,” he said.
Didiza, accompanied by Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, listened attentively as Makeke addressed ANC supporters and congregants.
ANC deputy chairman for Tshwane, Mapiti Matsena, also attended the ceremony and pleaded with the church members to go out in their numbers and vote on August 3.
Makeke, however, said that he remained a neutral citizen because of his position as a pastor.
“I have different political supporters in the church. There are EFF, DA and ANC supporters. I must be neutral and very careful not to lean towards any specific party. The mandate of the church is to support the government of the day,” he said.
But he said the community was not happy with the government and that may lead to the party losing votes in the upcoming elections.
“We don't want people to start igniting violence and barricading the roads,” he said. He, however, prayed for leaders, that God should give them wisdom to run the country.
Matsena said the pastor's words were a testimony that the church was entrenched in the community.
Didiza, on the other hand, likened the performance of the ANC-led government since its inception to the biblical 40-year journey undertaken by the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan. She evoked the biblical verse to explain why service delivery in some areas was still lagging behind and told the congregants their patience and suffering would soon bear fruit.
In Ekangala, Didiza’s door-to-door campaign was received with mixed reactions from unhappy residents. They complained that the city had failed to build them houses or create jobs. Evelyn Mhlanga mentioned empty promises the city had made to create full-time jobs for the Vat Alles workers, like herself.
Another resident, Violet Vilakazi, said: “The only thing we are receiving from (mayor Kgosientso) Ramokgopa is the water bill statements. Water here is so expensive (it is) as if we are having swimming pools.”
She expressed her love for the ANC government, but said she was disappointed about the bad treatment from local party leaders.
“You are perceived as an opposition party member once you start raising issues about the government,” she said.