Apartheid, load shedding, and Zamazamas dominate ANC manifesto review

Staff reporter

Welkom – The highly anticipated and hyped-up Free State ANC 2019 manifesto review didn’t disappoint as the national rhetoric continued at the provincial level.

The review was held at Zuka Baloyi stadium in Thabong, Welkom, and things got off with messages of support from alliance partners.

It didn’t come as a surprise when the newly formed African Transformation Congress (ATC) got a mention from MaQueen Mathae, TG of ANCWL and MEC of Police, Roads and Transport.

Mathae whose department is failing to deal with potholes said they will be launching a molo makhelwane campaign in Parys aimed at ACT while her department is in shambles.

Up next was ANCYL chairperson, Xolani Tseletsele who took a veiled attack on HoDs, specifically Human Settlement HoD.

“There are a lot of HoDs who are toiling around, we don’t know what they doing. But the leadership is not attending to them.

And those HoDs in particular the one of Hunan Settlement, that HoD must be attended to, and we don’t know why you are keeping her there as HoD.”

In the absence of the Premier and chairperson of ANC, Mxolisi Dukwana who is in China, it was his deputy and MEC of Human Settlement and COGTA, Ketso Makume who introduced
national chairperson, Gwede Mantashe but before handing over to Mantashe, Makume said Free State Health is digitizing cronic patients and almost all hospitals and clinics have management attending to complaints.

What Makume did not say about Free State Health is that his Treasurer and MEC is moving funds budgeted for service delivery to MEC injunctions and how the same department is not protecting women who were sexually harassed at Bongani Hospital.

Makume went on to mention that the Free State Province is number one in the country in Education and said this is due to the safety of pupils in schools.

What Makume did not say is that pupils in Free State schools stab each other and just last year, a matriculant in Soutpan stabbed his teacher with a knife and she died and Free State Education just spent over R6 million on two events, two.

In conclusion, Makume addressed the issue of land invasion but he said nothing about municipalities that failed to get clean audits, he said nothing about how the his party has failed residents of Maluti-A-Phofung as there is no water and electricity.

Mantashe did not waste time as he blamed apartheid just like President Ramaphosa, Minister Lindiwe Zulu and Minister Nkadimeng.

He went further to assure those in attendance that load-shedding is being attended to before declaring war on illegal mining.

“Illegal mining is not a mining activity, it’s a criminal activity.

We must flush out illegal miners and close all shafts”

Some of the ANC members in Kroonstad were left stranded as transport failed to turn up.

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