Residents of ward 10 in Sicelo Shiceka, Midvaal, in Gauteng, said on Sunday their community needs houses, sports facilities, and jobs for young people who roam the streets because of a lack of employment opportunities.
“Just take a look around you, young people are carrying beer bottles. This is their life here because there are no jobs, neither do we have community facilities where they can play sports. Houses, jobs, and community facilities are lacking here in Sicelo,” said resident Tshidi Mopatala.
Another resident, Thuli Thusi, complained about shipping containers used as classrooms for schoolchildren. “We do not have a single proper school, no school building at all. Our children sit in containers, government needs to assist us and build schools.”
Mopatala said she hoped the African National Congress would change the circumstances in Sicelo Shiceka if it won the local municipality in the August 3 polls.
A block away, Amos Theledi, 24, said the ANC was in Midvaal on Sunday “to get votes and nothing else”. “I am not going to attend Mbete’s rally. I think Midvaal was worse when the ANC was in charge than it is now. The DA has been in power for a couple of years only, they need more time to deliver more for the people of Sicelo.”
He said he was looking for a job constantly at local factories and businesses, including the brewery that stood visible along the R59 freeway. “I am patient, I think more will come for the people of Midvaal.”
ANC chairwoman Baleka Mbete on Sunday took her party’s municipal elections campaign to the only Democratic Alliance-controlled municipality in Gauteng. She attended a church service at the Evangelist Revival Ministries before going to ward 10. Supporters donning ANC T-shirts arrived in buses to hear her speak in ward 10. She told residents to dedicate the election day to voting ANC and helping others get to voting stations.
“If you have a car, make sure you take along your neighbours to go vote on August 3. Let’s wake up early, let’s have good co-ordination. That car is not yours for that day… it’s for ensuring people vote and vote ANC, you have that car because of the ANC.”
She urged residents to respect the governing party and not “go drinking” wearing ANC regalia. “The ANC was formed by elders, meaning its an old organisation. Do not taint the ANC image… I am as serious as a heart attack here. Take the T-shirt off when you go drinking and come back when you’re sober and do groundwork for the ANC,” she told the crowd gathered around the ANC campaign truck.
The DA first took control of Midvaal in 2000. Other parties vying for votes in the area include the ANC, the Economic Freedom Fighters, and the Freedom Front Plus.
Midvaal municipality borders two metros, the City of Johannesburg and the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, and is linked to these areas by the R59 freeway.
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