ActionSA ends ANC dominance in Atteridgeville’s Ward 63

ActionSA has ended the ANC’s dominance in Atteridgeville’s Ward 63, with its councillor candidate, Phuti Johannes Maselela, emerging victorious in the ward ballot with 42.1% of the vote.

The result marks a significant turnaround for ActionSA, which increased its share of the vote by 30.3 percentage points from 11.8% in the 2021 local government elections.

In 2021, the ANC won the ward with 60.1% of the vote, followed by the EFF with 18.7%, while ActionSA received 11.8%.

By 4pm on Friday, in Tshwane, the DA was leading the municipal election race with 31.78% of the vote, followed by ActionSA with 23.23% and the ANC with 21.89%, according to preliminary results, with 78% of votes counted.

The DA had secured 428,388 votes, while ActionSA had received 313,181 votes and the ANC 295,038 votes.

ActionSA’s latest victory in Ward 63 forms part of the party’s gains in Atteridgeville. Maselela said the party had worked hard to secure the victory and was encouraged by the support it had received during its campaign.

“We worked very hard to win this ward. We just lost one voting station, which is our previous councillor’s voting station. I want to thank my team. People from the hostel made sure we won this ward. This is history for Atteridgeville.

“I am very happy, because when we did our door-to-door campaigns and public meetings, talking to our communities, they showed us support, and that is the result we see today,” he said.

Maselela added that the campaign had also allowed the party to identify residents’ concerns, which he pledged to prioritise.

He identified high municipal bills, nepotism and unemployment among the main challenges facing the ward. “We are going to open all opportunities for our residents. We have a big challenge with unemployment in this ward.”

He also promised to prioritise the development of hostels, describing the living conditions there as indecent.

“If you go around the hostel, even prisoners would not stay here. A lot of people are dying in hostels because of illegal connections, but we cannot cut off those connections because we are human beings. You cannot live without electricity. We are going to develop the hostel so that people can live with dignity,” he said.

He said ActionSA would also introduce an amnesty programme to address municipal debt, citing high municipal charges as a concern.

Crime is another challenge he highlighted, saying the party would work with law enforcement agencies to address it.

Maselela also raised concern about drug abuse among young people in Atteridgeville, saying the party intended to work with the party’s mayoral candidate in Ekurhuleni, Xolani Khumalo, who is associated with the television programme Sizok’thola, to tackle the problem.

“Atteridgeville’s youth is falling into the drug trap, but we have a plan. We have Xolani Khumalo and Sizok’thola, and he will assist us with drugs. We don’t want to see our youth on drugs,” he said.

Mmakgoko Veron Phasha, the ANC councillor candidate, retained Ward 71 after the party won with 44.8% of the vote.

In the 2021 local government elections, the ANC received the highest share of ward votes in the City of Tshwane, with 34.4%, but failed to secure an outright majority in the council. The ANC won 75 of the 214 council seats, falling short of the 108 seats needed for a majority.

While the ANC councillor retained Ward 71, he warned of a tight Tshwane election and said the party faced a wake-up call following ActionSA’s gains in several of the region’s wards.

Phasha said his own result showed that residents had recognised the work he and the ANC had committed to during their time in office.

“But,” he added, “it was not an easy election. It was a tight election. You could see that in the numbers. Even parties that were underestimated received significant numbers of votes, and support was spread across Tshwane.”

Phasha said the ANC would prioritise service delivery concerns raised by residents, particularly deteriorating roads and electricity supply.

He said residents had complained about dilapidated roads and recurring electricity interruptions caused by tripping substations, particularly during bad weather.

“We are going to make sure that we prioritise all submissions made to us about service delivery issues. The roads are in a very bad state, and we will make sure that we prioritise that area,” he said.

He added that the party would also push for policies that addressed the needs of people living in townships and informal settlements.

Reflecting on ActionSA’s gains, Phasha said the results should serve as a warning to the ANC.

He said the ANC had retained three wards in Atteridgeville, while also retaining Ward 107 by a narrow margin.

Phasha, however, attributed ActionSA’s performance in some wards to the popularity of Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya, arguing that residents were voting for her rather than the party’s ward candidates.

“I don’t think ActionSA has credible candidates in these wards. They are voting for Nasiphi Moya. If they remove Nasiphi Moya tomorrow, ActionSA won’t get the votes they got. In fact, it was Nasiphi Moya’s votes, not the candidates’ votes,” he said.

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