Pretoria - EFF leader in Tshwane, Obakeng Ramabodu, this weekend welcomed ANC members to the party, who torched their yellow T-shirts to adorn the red EFF ones as they switched allegiance in the run-up to the local government polls.
The group of about 20 was made up of middle-aged and elderly residents of Soshanguve Block W in Ward 27, formerly ward 25, who said corruption, greed and dodgy deployments had ruined it for them.
The EFF ward councillor candidate Charlotte Makhado, helped them register for membership with the “fighters”. But some of their friends and families said they needed time to confirm if indeed all hope was lost and the only way forward was to toss the black, green and gold aside.
One of the people who said they were disappointed by the local ANC was Samuel Matlala, who had not made the decision to leave the ANC by Saturday, but said he had opted not to participate in the local government elections because of problems with the local structure. He accused it of showing favouritism and manipulating processes to appoint ward councillors.
“They said we were going to vote for the ward councillor candidate, but we did not actually vote. They rigged the process. They start creating their own groups or supporters who will just ‘yes’ all their decisions and oust those who dare to challenge them.”
Frustrated former ANC members included Elisa Mobungu, 60, who said she had waited for an RDP house all her life, until she eventually built a six-room house with the money she could put together.
Dorothy Sibanyoni, 64, Sarah Molele, 59, and Marcus Lebea, 60, said they were not prepared to go to the grave voting for a party that failed to improve their lives.
Ramabodu, in welcoming the defected members, said people had grown tired of the ANC that had governed Pretoria for years but failed to implement change, while the DA government was finding it difficult to run the City to a point that international credit ratings agencies like Moody’s downgraded the City more than once.
He said: “We are receiving so many invites from ANC members in numerous voting districts who want to join the EFF.
“In the ANC violence is the order of the day. They are killing each other. The ANC is dead here in Tshwane. They are predicting 35% but I predict 0% because they are now just a group of gangsters concerned with funding their luxurious lifestyles while Tshwane has almost 700 000 unemployed young people.”
Efforts to get comment from ANC Tshwane leadership proved futile by deadline yesterday.
Pretoria News