Our manifesto speaks to people on the ground - EFF

14 July 2016

Polokwane - As the EFF heads to its first local government elections, the party says it's making inroads with people who can relate to what it stands for.

"We are no longer tapping into first-time voters, but we are starting to tap into those who voted for the ANC, and now even ANC members have committed to voting for us because they agree the ANC has lost direction," Limpopo provincial secretary Jossey Buthane said.

"What makes people relate to the EFF is the policies, the manifesto that we have that speaks to the core issues that affect our people which the current government of the day has forgotten. It speaks about the very water... the houses that the current government of the day has failed to provide, roads into every township. We are speaking about making education fashionable."

The province, which is where EFF leader Julius Malema hails from, has long been controlled by the ANC, but is expected to be strongly contested by the EFF.

Buthane added that another aspect of the EFF that appealed to voters was their commitment to ensuring that the respective councillors lived in the areas they served.

"Our councillors will be held responsible and they will have to call community meetings. No councillor of the EFF will be voted in Seshego and come live in Polokwane. All of them will reside where they were voted until the end of the term," he said.

Buthane added that they had strong mechanisms to keep their councillors responsible.

Speaking of the provincial government being placed under administration, he said the measures that were put in place had still not yielded results.

Five of Limpopo's departments were placed under administration in 2011 – provincial treasury, education, roads and transport, public works and health and social development.

The departments were placed under administration because of a lack of financial management and a high level of maladministration. Problems included service providers being paid twice a week, which led to cash-flow problems. Control of those departments was returned in 2015.

This article first appeared on News24, see here.