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Local Government Elections Update Ntuthuzelo Nene · Drive with John Perlman

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Let's take ourselves south and east into the Eastern Cape
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: and to the community of Makanda, specifically Jorza Township. And
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: welcome to the show, our EWN colleague, Tutuzelo Nene. Tutuzelo,
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: good afternoon to you. What have you seen out in
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: Makanda in general and in Jorza Township in particular? Are
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: voters turning up in good numbers? Good afternoon.
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: Good afternoon, John. It's been a relatively quiet day, you know,
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: of voting here in Makanda with turnout still appearing to
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: be low at a number of voting stations across both
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: the township where I'm at in Chorza and the town.
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: It's unlike the early morning rush that we saw at
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: some of the voting stations, you know, Yeah, voters appear
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: to be trickling in rather than arriving in large numbers.
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: This is despite the significant stakes that are attached to
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: today's election, particularly for the Makana municipality, which has been
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: plagued by years of financial and governance challenges. And residents here, John,
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: have continued to raise concerns about unreliable water supplies, poor sanitation,
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: and the deteriorating infrastructure. Those issues that have put the
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: municipality's administration under the spotlight. We also saw some encouraging
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: participation earlier on among young people, especially at Rhodes University,
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: with a number of first-time voters making their way to
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: the polls. And for some of those young voters or
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: student voters, the decision, they say, to participate in this
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: year's election is driven by a desire to see change
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: and to hold those in leadership accountable.
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: So, I mean, I know we don't have the numbers yet,
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: but in your conversations or anything else that's touched your
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: political radar on Tutuzelo, I mean, if we go back
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: even one local government election, I mean, these have always
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: in the Eastern Cape, the medium-sized towns like Grahamstown, have
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: always been ANC strongholds, as has the province as a whole.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: What sense are you getting now? Is Makanda really up
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: for grabs this time around?
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: You are correct, John, saying that it's an ANC stronghold.
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: You'd remember in the 2021 elections, the ANC won this
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: municipality with a majority. It was a narrow victory for
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: them with only one seat, getting 14 out of the
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: 27 seats up for grab in this municipality. However, they
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: have been able to work with, you know, some of
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: the other smaller parties which have been, you know, supporting
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: the ANC and voting with the ANC on important, you know,
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: votes in council, especially around budgets and things like that.
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: Thanks so much. And Tutu Zelone.