ANC using construction contracts to buy votes for 2024 elections

23 July 2023

It is disturbing that the ANC is using construction contracts to garner votes and further cadre deployment ahead of the 2024 elections.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng has received credible information that the ANC is using the rehabilitation of the Hendrik Potgieter Bridge in Roodepoort for this purpose.

A meeting was held in Roodepoort earlier this month, where it was allegedly indicated that only those who are members of the ANC would benefit from the job opportunities that the rehabilitation of the bridge will create.

If these allegations are true, it is unacceptable that this process is not conducted fairly and transparently. It is the government’s responsibility to create employment opportunities for all residents, despite their political affiliation.

The Department of Roads and Transport also engages directly with the ANC Parliamentary Constituency Office (PCO) to discuss projects like these and the opportunities it offers for work. This has come out in a departmental presentation to the Portfolio Committee for Roads and Logistics and a letter written by the department to this effect.

The DA demands that the Head of the Department for Roads and Transport stop all engagements with the ANC’s Parliamentary Constituency Offices on road contracts in the province and ensure fairness in allocating construction jobs to communities.

The DA will also call on the department to account for the advancement of the ANC’s cadres in the Roads and Transport Portfolio Committee in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL).

Issued by Fred Nel, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Roads and Transport, 23 July 2023