The is aiming to secure 60% of the votes in the eThekwini region in the upcoming national elections.
ANC regional secretary in eThekwini Musa Nciki told supporters at a rally held in uMlazi on Sunday that the party was aiming to secure the bulk of the votes in the province’s biggest municipality.
The Sunday rally was part of the Freedom Day celebrations that were hosted over the weekend.
“The chairperson of the province, Siboniso Duma, is coming here to motivate us – to say, let’s go out to the public and urge them to come out and make sure that on May 29, the ANC wins the elections.
“We have been given a target in eThekwini that we must secure 60% of the vote. We can’t get that 60% without securing 60% here in uMlazi township (one of the biggest townships in the country),” he said.
ANC Women’s League secretary Zama Sokhabase said the work that was done by the ANC over the last 30 years should not be taken for granted, adding that the party has done a lot to improve living conditions.
Duma delivered the main address, dismissing suggestions that the ANC had failed the people of South Africa. He said the ANC government has worked extremely hard to deliver services to the people over the past 30 years.
His speech was largely focused on reminding the rally of the province’s violent past, the killings that occurred as a result of political violence, and was focused on reminding people of what the ANC government had done over the last three decades.
He said that the government had made significant strides in health care, education and the provision of services like electricity.
Speaking on health care, Duma emphasised the importance of the services being free in government centres, saying when a woman finds out that she is pregnant, prenatal care is provided for free, and when the child is born, that child gets a free birth certificate.
He said even when the child starts school, the government understands that not all children come from well-to-do families and in order to ensure that the child is looked after, the government provides for that child via the school nutrition programme.
Duma then touched on electricity, saying before the democratic government, a fraction of the population received that service.
“Now, between 80 and 90% of the population across the country was receiving that service,” he said.
He said while there are challenges when it comes to load shedding, the government is working to address the problems and there is evidence of the work being done, pointing to the fact that there has been no load shedding for close to 30 days.
The Mercury