46 days after ruling party's election manifesto‚ DA challenges ANC to name its mayoral candidates

31 May 2016 - 18:22 By Ernest Mabuza

The Democratic Alliance has called on the African National Congress to name its mayoral candidates for the metropolitan municipalities that the parties will contest during the local government elections on August 3. The DA made this call on Tuesday as it announced that four metropolitan councils run by the ANC indulged in unauthorised‚ irregular‚ wasteful and fruitless expenditure to the tune of billions last year‚ while Cape Town showed the cleanest financials of any metro. The ANC said this week it was not ready as yet to release the names of its mayoral candidates who will campaign for the local government elections . ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe said the names of mayoral candidates would be decided at a special national executive committee meeting at a later stage.The DA’s mayoral candidate for Nelson Mandela Bay metro‚ Athol Trollip‚ said on Tuesday the voters deserved to know who the ANC’s mayoral candidates were‚ and who in the ANC would take responsibility for fixing the mess they had left the country’s cities in.Trollip said the delay from the ANC to name its mayoral candidates had meant that the people of the close-to-call metros in this election had not yet been given the opportunity by the ANC to fairly and openly interrogate their options this year.According to the DA‚ the Tshwane‚ Johannesburg‚ Ekurhuleni and Nelson Mandela Bay municipalities were the “battleground” metros in this year’s elections.“It has been 46 days since the ANC launched its manifesto‚ and yet in that time it has only been the DA whose mayoral candidates have been on the ground engaging voters on issues important to them and their lives. “We now challenge the ANC to name its candidates publicly without delay‚ and we challenge (ANC secretary general) Gwede Mantashe to commit the ANC’s candidates to a series of public debates with us‚” Trollip said.The DA’s mayoral candidate for Johannesburg‚ businessman Herman Mashaba‚ said his party stood for transparency and openness and were ready for every voter to test them on their election promises. ..

There’s never been a more important time to support independent media.

From World War 1 to present-day cosmopolitan South Africa and beyond, the Sunday Times has been a pillar in covering the stories that matter to you.

For just R80 you can become a premium member (digital access) and support a publication that has played an important political and social role in South Africa for over a century of Sundays. You can cancel anytime.

Already subscribed? Sign in below.



Questions or problems? Email helpdesk@timeslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00.