T-shirt row erupts in Upington

The ANC in the Northern Cape region of Siyanda in Upington is facing allegations of using state resources to win over voters.

As the political battle for control of the Siyanda district and Khara-Hais local municipalities heated up, COPE has written to the public protector and the Independent Electoral Commission, asking the two bodies to investigate the ANC Siyanda region and the two municipalities for abuse of state power and electoral fraud.

COPE's regional leader in the Siyanda region, Leonard de Wee, told the Sunday Times the ANC in the area was using a recently launched Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) as a vote-buying vehicle.

The project was launched less than two months ago after John Block, the ANC's Northern Cape chairman, bailed out cash-strapped municipalities in the province to the tune of R10-million.

De Wee alleged that the ANC was making people working on the EPWP in the township of Pabalello and other parts of town wear ANC T-shirts while labouring on a road project.

Driving around several small townships of Upington this week, the Sunday Times saw several EPWP workers doing their work while wearing ANC election regalia.

Clad in an ANC T-shirt while on duty, Johannes Mouers confirmed he was employed under the EPWP, but denied being ordered to wear the ANC T-shirt.

"We are on project work for Khara-Hais (municipality). We are paid R75 a day. I would say, all round, it's 120 people on the projects. It's nine weeks we've been on the project," said Mouers.

The ANC regional secretary for the Siyanda region, Deshi Ngxanga, who is also the municipal manager in the Siyanda district municipality, said the ANC could not be blamed if EPWP workers chose to wear ANC T-shirts while on municipal duty.

Khara-Hais is the Northern Cape's second-biggest municipality after Sol Plaatj e in Kimberley.

In the 2009 general election, the ANC won 51% of the votes, while COPE took 21% of the ballots in the Upington region.