President Cyril Ramaphosa, while campaigning for the ANC, described a municipality in the North West as the worst in the country, saying it was a “horror spectacle” and that he had been hijacked by criminals.
Although these admissions took place in an ANC-run local municipality of Ditsobotla, Ramaphosa rallied residents of the northwestern town to vote for the ANC.
Ramaphosa was in the North West on Saturday as part of the ANC’s Letsema campaign event.
The president’s visit to the region serves him on two fronts; for his re-election campaign as head of the ANC, but another is to help the ANC win votes in a municipality he had failed to govern.
Ramaphosa, standing on a makeshift stage in a ramshackle taxi rank, admitted residents faced a stark choice in December – when by-elections for all wards in the municipality were up for grabs.
Internal ANC unrest over infighting had aggravated the municipality as two councilors once claimed to hold the positions of mayor and chairman of Ditsobotla council.
When entering Ditsobotla, a town bordered by Lichtenberg, the streets are littered with potholes.
The area where the ANC held its mini rally had no water for several days.
He addressed a mini-rally in Lichtenburg, in the northwest, where there will be a by-election to name a new council.
The ANC-run local municipality of Ditsobotla was dissolved by parliament following massive misadministration.
Ramaphosa’s central message was reflected in a vest he wore – which read unite, rebuild and renew.
Hundreds of people in the village of Bodibe greeted Ramaphosa with loud shouts and ululations.
Ramaphosa used the rally to unveil new candidates for the ANC – who he says will solve the many service delivery problems in the community.
“When I was traveling here inside a car – I saw a lot of potholes and was told that the president was only fixing them because you were coming,” he said. .
He is also expected to engage with business stakeholders and ANC branches in the region.
