THE Al Jama-ah party is hoping to give the DA a run for its money in the coming municipal elections in the City of Cape Town because it wants to change the metro from being a “Stepmother City” to most of its residents.
The party’s mayoral candidate Ganief Hendricks said on Wednesday they wanted to end the DA and ensure that there was a co-government after the November 1 elections.
“We want it to be a Mother City to other communities as well other than being exclusively for whites,” he said, adding that the city under the DA was neglecting most of its residents.
Hendricks believes that the way to end what he termed as “Stepmother City” was to ensure a “balance of power” in the newly-constituted council.
“We don’t want to form a coalition. We want to form a co-government like in the City of Johannesburg. In co-government we can have a right to criticise,” he said.
Hendricks, who is presently the sole MP for the Al Jama-ah, said he was looking forward to his party winning enough seats to force what he described as “balance of power” so that he could stand a chance to be the mayor should there be talks of a coalition government.
“We are very much interested in the mayoral chain,” he said.
“I don’t want anything less. I have a track record,” said Hendricks who was a councillor in 2011 until 2019 before becoming an MP.
In the 2016 local government elections, the Al Jama-ah obtained two seats in the City of Cape Town, and one in the 2011 election.
The party aims to grab more seats this time around.
According to Hendricks, the Al Jama-ah, which has a councillor in the mayoral committee of the City of Johannesburg after it won a ward from the DA in Laudium, has set standards in municipal governance there.
He said they were targeting not less than 40 seats and were certain to win in 30 wards.
He was conscious that a lot of parties were vying for the elections in the city.
There are about 49 political parties and civic organisations that will go toe-to-toe with 40 independent candidates.
“We will emerge as victors. The 30 ward seats will end the white rule. Our aim is to co-govern,” Hendricks said.
The Al Jama-ah is also eyeing all nine wards in Mitchells Plain.
“We are going to win every ward and run the sub-council.”
Hendricks said their candidates were flat out on the ground canvassing the votes.
The party, he said, had a 24-hour online radio station that broadcast to the different wards with candidates having a slot.
“This is a new form of messaging. We address a particular area and they speak to us directly.”
Apart from contesting the City of Cape Town, the Al Jama-ah is fielding about 1 200 candidates in 31 municipalities out of seven provinces.
It is also contesting all the metros, and hopes to increase seats particularly in the Nelson Mandela Metro and the City of Johannesburg.