Battle for Cape’s township voters

After many letdowns residents are undecided, writes Bekezela Phakathi
BEKEZELA PHAKATHI
Published: 2011/01/28 07:28:57 AM

AS THE Democratic Alliance (DA) and the African National Congress (ANC) gear up to lock horns in this year’s polls, residents of Cape Town’s townships of Khayelitsha and Gugulethu are still undecided which party they will support.

While political commentators are convinced that the DA is well poised to maintain its grip on Cape Town, the party’s support in the townships is less certain.

The DA has always emphatically stated that "where the DA governs, it delivers better services than the ANC", but this notion has been repeatedly questioned in the past year after the infamous Makhaza "toilet without walls" saga and the violent protests in Hangberg.

Lwazi Mabizela, a Khayelitsha resident, says he is not sure who to vote for because he does not trust any party. "When the ANC was in charge of Cape Town we thought our lives would change, but nothing changed, we continued to suffer," Mr Mabizela says.

"We thought the DA would improve the basics like access to housing but we are still waiting … nothing has changed for us, so it just means my vote is useless."

Another Khayelitsha resident, Nomawethu Ngwane, says : "I take any election seriously but the problem is that these parties only take us seriously during election time and after that they disappear.

"We have not seen many changes, it’s always promise after promise…. You can never trust these politicians no matter where they are from."

Gugulethu resident Mzwandile Khojane says whoever wins in Cape Town will be under "serious" pressure to deliver "because communities are tired of waiting".

"We have waited for long, we have given these politicians a lot of time, but we continue to suffer. Whoever wins will have to deliver otherwise the city might be ungovernable with continued service delivery protests," he says.

Both the ANC and the DA have failed the people. "A lot of people say the DA is doing better than the ANC in Cape Town, but we have not seen that; all I know is that the DA has done very well taking care of people in the suburbs in town."

Idasa political analyst Justin Sylvester says it has always been obvious township people are not happy with service delivery.

"Service delivery has always been apparent in the CBD, but not in the townships and this is the challenge the DA faces."

Mr Sylvester says although the Makhaza saga and the Hangberg protests may have "hurt" the DA’s image, they will not significantly reduce its chances of retaining Cape Town.

"It is quite clear that the DA has generally done better than the ANC, especially administratively. They have not had any major scandals, in contrast with the ANC when it governed the city. The Hangberg and the Makhaza issues were highly politicised but in the broader context I do not think they will hurt the DA’s chances in the polls."

Independent political analyst Daniel Silke says basic services for poorer black communities are a problem across the country and not just in municipalities controlled by the DA. "The provision of basic services is a challenge for all parties, not just the DA. Also, decisions on service delivery are largely governed by national dictates and not really local government.

"So national government must shoulder most of the blame for poor service delivery, not the DA."

The ANC will closely scrutinise what the DA has done for poorer black communities because the "DA is vulnerable in that area".

"It is not a surprise that most black voters remain suspicious of the DA even if it has positive intentions … perhaps the DA needs to look at all this from a public relations point of view to market (itself) in black communities."

phakathib@bdfm.co.za