As parties continued to campaign in preparation for Wednesday’s by-elections at the Ditsobotla Local Municipality, the Patriotic Alliance (PA) became the last to descend on the area to canvas for votes.
The special votes will be cast on Tuesday, while the by-elections will be held on Wednesday for all the 20 wards, which will be contested by 15 political parties and two independent candidates.
The PA’s deputy president, Kenny Kunene also came with a promise that his party can improve the lives of the people of Ditsobotla by creating employment and providing runner water for the communities.
“We have proven ourselves that we are in politics to serve our people and that is what we want to do for the people of Ditsobotla. It cannot be that there is no water in Ditsobotla. It cannot be that houses are not built for people in extension 3. It cannot be that people in Coligny depend on borehole water.
“It cannot be that there is a high rate of unemployment. Clover SA left Ditsobotla local municipality because of a lack of services from the municipality. And we have committed to the people of the Ditsobotla that should they vote for PA, we will go and engage Clover SA and other companies to come and set up their factories to create employment.
“So as a Patriot, you will understand that the name Patriot means someone who loves their country and its people. The name of our party explains who we are. We are an alliance, a union of people who love South Africans and that is why they must vote for us.
“We are the only party committed to transforming this country and giving people the life that they deserve,” Kunene said.
Kunene said that given a chance the PA would improve the finances of the municipality to ensure service delivery.
“Every municipality gets funding from the treasury, so when we take over we will make sure that it goes to service delivery projects that are in the IDP. We will also engage other companies, just like we did in the central Karoo, where the mayor brought in 15 companies within 100 days. We are looking into identifying what other potentials are in Ditsobotla, so that we can invite potential investors.
“But first and foremost is to make sure that the funding from the treasury is well spent, there is no corruption, and that there are no inflated prices by service providers. So that we make sure that the municipality runs smoothly.
“What is top on our agenda is to create jobs as much as possible, because when people are employed they are able to pay for services. And when they pay for services, the municipality can improve service delivery,” he said.