The Maluti-a-Phofung 16 or MAP16 Civic Movement says it will not go into any coalition with the ANC because they don’t live by the same principles. MAP16 leader Paratlane Motloung says they are preparing for a clean sweep in the cash-strapped Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality in the forthcoming local government elections set for November 1. The MAP16 is made up of councillors who were expelled from the ANC in 2018 after they were accused of working with the opposition in council. The decision immediately backfired against the ruling party as it went on to lose 10 wards in a by-election in 2019, leaving them with only five.
How ready are you for the elections and how do see your chances of making significant gains?
Election day is almost here. We have been quite active since the elections were proclaimed, so we are prepared. We have been busy.
When you contested as independent candidates in the 2019 by-elections under the MAP16 banner, you didn’t have much time to campaign and you were largely viewed as a disgruntled group simply trying to wrest power. How optimistic are you now in terms of the support you have?
We are very much optimistic. That is why we are contesting the whole municipality this time round. We are also contesting the seats in the Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality. That says we are very much optimistic. The soil is fertile for us. People are tired of the ruling party here. We believe we have got a chance of taking over the municipality. The chance of having a majority is in sight.
How many candidates are you fielding and do you have a competent set of people to change things in local government there?
Maluti-a-Phofung has 35 wards and it will have about 77 proportional representation seats in this election. We have candidates who understand the needs of the people because that’s why we were fighting when we had a fall-out with the ANC.
Couldn’t you work out things with the ANC after the dust had settled?
Remember how we came out of the ANC was because 16 councillors had been dismissed from the party. So, when the 16 were dismissed, some of us who were not fired decided to go with them. We were supporting them for the cause that they were pursuing in the municipality . . . that of anti-corruption. After that, there was nothing left for us in the ANC.
But the ANC tried to reach out to you and wanted to make amends. Wasn’t that enough to bring you together to talk?
The fact that they came back later and apologised . . . in a way, it was an insult to people like myself. They were just insulting my intelligence. That’s how I feel about it.
And what will happen should you fail to get a majority in council? Will you not consider a coalition with the ANC?
There is no chance for a coalition with the ANC, but with other parties, yes. With the ANC it’s a no, no.
What will it take for you to be able to sit down with the ANC and work things out?
There is nothing new . . . Actually, we are not interested in any discussion with the ANC, I must be honest. And that’s simply because the ANC does not have the interests of the community here. That’s one principle that would make us want to talk to them. We have been members of the ANC for so long. Some of us have been in these councils. We know how it operates. We know the culture that’s in the ANC. We are also even vindicated now with their choice of candidates. Things have gone from bad to worse. I started the ANC here in QwaQwa after the unbanning of political parties together with other members, but wouldn’t want to associate with it now. I was not recruited by anyone. I started it together with the others. We took the initiative to start the structures of the ANC here. None of them can tell me anything.
What are you promising the people should you be given the mandate to lead after this election?
Look, the people here want simple things. The basics. They want water, electricity, good roads, they want the sewage running down the streets to be stopped. And they want the refuse removed on a regular basis. We know how those issues affect them. In our manifesto, we were telling them we will be able to deliver in those areas. You can’t have development if those issues are not addressed.
How are you going to address the issue of unemployment?
Our attitude is that if we can get the basics right by stabilising the availability of water, electricity, fixing roads, sewage others, it becomes easier to address all the other issues. We also believe that we should prioritise local businesses or contractors whenever there are jobs at the municipality at all times. And when the municipality has to hire people, locals should be prioritised. We believe when people have meaningful jobs, they will be able to pay for services like electricity.
One of the issues raised in most municipalities across the country is that there is no money to implement projects or deliver services. How valid is this point, in your view?
The money is often misused. In Maluti-a-Phofung, there is a lot corruption such that the municipality is mainly dependent on the equitable share and other grants like the MIG (Municipal Infrastructure Grant). Other revenue sources such as the selling of electricity are not working. In our instance, most households have bridged the electricity meters, so people are not buying electricity. They are consuming it for free. That is one of the reasons why the municipality owes Eskom in excess of R6 billion. That’s one big challenge that we will have to deal with. But I must say the main thing was corruption, especially during the time of former mayor Vusi Tshabalala.
That’s a very serious allegation. What happened?
They were not servicing the account with Eskom and many other creditors. It’s a challenge that we will be inheriting when we get there. On a quarterly basis, this municipality receives in excess of R250 million in equitable share, which we believe can make a difference with regard to the challenges that we face here. We know that the equitable share is mainly for subsidising the indigents, but unfortunately in our case here it’s not working like that. The municipality is in a very bad state, financially.
Could this bridging of electricity meters be an indication that people cannot afford, maybe due to high unemployment and poverty levels?
While I agree that there is a high level of unemployment here, the issue of the bridging of electricity meters is not necessarily due to that . . . Even people who are working and can afford are not buying electricity here because of the corruption that was happening in the municipality.
The EFF has been quite active campaigning in the eastern Free State. Do you see them giving you serious competition?
We don’t even consider them. There is very little coming from them. Currently, they have nine seats in the Maluti-a-Phofung council and I can tell you they will be lucky to have five after this election. They are of no serious challenge to us. Those that talk to us acknowledge they are no match to us. We expect to take most of the seats. We believe we stand a chance of taking over the municipality with a clear majority. If we fail, it will be by a slight percentage that will require a coalition with some opposition parties excluding the ANC. But we believe we are front runners for taking the municipality.
And why should anyone consider voting for you?
We are the only practical alternative that is available in Maluti-a-Phofung. We have already proven that we have the muscle to take on the ANC at all levels. The people of Maluti-a-Phofung have a chance to change their lives. There is no chance that the ANC will ever change their lives. Things are going to get worse if we don’t win this election. This is an important chance that people have to change their lives.
But what if someone says you are coming from the ANC, how different are you from them?
Remember, many organisations come from the ANC. That logic therefore doesn’t hold water any longer. We are where we are today because we challenged the ANC from inside. We were challenging all the wrong things from the inside. We were actually disrupting their corruption and they side-lined us. We realised things were not going to change and we left. They could not follow us up because we are confident they won’t find anything on us.
