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Local Government Elections Update Babalo Ndenze · Drive with John Perlman

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Denze has been out there covering things. Babalo, very good
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: afternoon to you. You've had a long day there already,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: much more work still to be done. But what have
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: you come across so far that we and the rest
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: of South Africa need to know about? Good afternoon to you.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: Yes, indeed, John. You know, we were quite up early
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: and went to one of the areas that we had
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: covered earlier on during the run up to the elections.
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: And this is a site where there is a land
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: dispute or a land restitution project that has been delayed
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: for almost 30 years. And, you know, speaking to some
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: of those voters at this, you know, which is Ward 48,
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: their demands were quite, you know, and the reasons they
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: were voting were quite obvious. You know, housing is at
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: the top of the list because there are a lot
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: of land invaders there and they are living basically on
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: a piece of invaded land where they've been taken to court.
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: And there are issues about the delays to the housing project.
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: But the residents there, you know, a lot of EFF
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: party officials actually say it's quite present in the ward.
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: The ANC is currently the ward council at that ward.
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: But it looks like it might switch this time around
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: because there's a lot of activism on the ground because
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: of the housing matter or the shortage of housing. But
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: we've also spoken to members of the youth council. in
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: some of the informal settlements, you know, in some of
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: the suburban areas, which is near Abikonde, that's Ward 28. And,
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: you know, there it's mostly unemployment. And now this is youth,
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: you can see the youth, they're dressed in, some of
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: them are in DA colors, some of them are in
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: ANC colors. So it's youth that are basically representing or
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: voting for different parties, you know, with a lot of
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: them voting for some of the smaller parties. Also issues around,
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: you know, just basics, the basics, portholes. Many suburban voters
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: calling for change, you know, are saying that, you know,
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: the city seems to have neglected basic infrastructure, you know,
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: the water infrastructure, the issues around refuse collection. There have
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: been raids, you know, raids, pay boycotts in the past
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: in some of these areas where, you know, residents are
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: holding back their raids because they want the council to
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: not neglect their areas, to pick up the trash and
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: to fill the portholes. So it's those basic issues that
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: we've really encountered. Nothing really controversial or any shortages of
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: ballots in the metro specifically, maybe in other parts of
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: the province, you know, like Angorbo and other areas that
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: the provincial IEC has reported on. But in the Buffalo
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: City metro, it's been a really smooth day. There were
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: a lot of voters, you know, out for the early vote.
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: We might see the queue. is getting longer again, you know,
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: towards the early evening when some people that I've spoken
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: to that are currently working, you know, that I've just
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: interacted with, saying that they will now leave work and
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: go vote only later. But, you know, there is one
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: small thing that did happen earlier at about eight in
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: the morning, John, where Quickly, the mayor, Princess Fakou, went
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: out to vote in an area called Gonubi, and the
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: Daily Dispatch reports that she was out at this voting
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: station in Gonubi where the IEC official tried to make
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: her go to the front of the line. But, you know,
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: people that were standing in the queue objected to her
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: standing going to the front. And she was basically sent
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: to the back of the queue. And that was really
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: the only dramatic thing, if I can call it that,
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: in the Buffalo City Metro at the moment. But we
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: are monitoring the different polling stations, you know, in the
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: urban area as well as in the outer areas, you know,
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: like in Dunsina as well, John.
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah, thanks so much, Babalo and Denze out in Kugump.