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- While the ANC is bullish about its electoral prospects in Limpopo, not all the residents of Tzaneen are enthused about its practices since the last election.
- In the series On The Road, News24 is traversing the country to gauge South Africans' feelings ahead of the elections.
- News24's Manifesto Meter elections tool compares political party manifestos. Read more here.
It's Thursday afternoon, the day before the Easter Weekend, and downtown Tzaneen is bustling.
The streets in the centre of town are teeming with people doing shopping and carrying luggage.
One is struck by how clean the town is compared with other towns in Limpopo - and the absence of election posters.
However, at the corner of Danie Joubert and Loop streets, just a street away from the hustle and bustle, an ANC poster is being hung. Some DA and EFF posters are also in the vicinity.
The ANC members hanging the poster bearing President Cyril Ramaphosa's face are bullish. Ankole-bullish.
The men told the On The Road team that the ANC has Limpopo "in the bag", and that there are no problems in the province.
In the 2019 election, the ANC garnered 75.49% support from 1 096 300 votes.
Pollsters have not flagged Limpopo as a province of interest in the upcoming election, however, it is one of the few provinces the ANC is expected to win with an outright majority.
The newly formed Change Starts Now party, which has since dropped out of the elections, had a poll in December 2023 showing the ANC would receive about 59% of the support in Limpopo.
The poll did not include the impact of the Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party, as it did not exist at the time.
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In Tzaneen, the ANC has been accused of neglecting villages and delivering services to areas closer to the city. The Citizen recently reported last week that this sparked protests when Bismark villagers took to the streets demanding service delivery.
Mashape Kgatle of the ANC in Tzaneen responded to the allegations.
"We, of course, acknowledge that we have not been closing the gap between town and the villages, but we have committed to working hard and encouraging our branch leaders to make sure that they visit our villages and talk to our people.
"We were able to deliver much-needed services. We know there are issues here and there; we know we have not closed the gap enough, but are committing to improving," Kgatle said.
However, a few streets away, Matome Mamabgere, wants change. He first considered voting for the EFF, now he is considering the DA. But one thing is certain - change is needed.
He says:
"Ramaphosa don't work, nothing [sic]. Look at that road there," he says, pointing to a pothole. "Here [there's] nothing, we don't have everything."
Eighteen-year-old Samuel Malatja is excited to be voting for the first time on 29 May. He is wearing an MK Party shirt that he got from his grandmother.
"I don't know if she is a member or what, but she gave me this and I like this colour.
"I don't know much about that what-what," he says in reference to the MK Party. "I'd like to know more."
"Actually, I just like Zuma," he says, referring to de facto MK Party leader and corruption-accused former president Jacob Zuma.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa decided unanimously this week to block Zuma's bid to contest the elections following an objection that cited his criminal record.
"Eish, since he was president, he brought some changes in our country. He introduced people from another country. The Guptas!
"Ey, I like the Guptas. I just like this name of the Guptas."
Malatja matriculated last year, and while he doesn't have formal employment, he uses his car, a red Volkswagen Golf, for e-hailing. This earns him around R500 per week. He stays with his 23-year-old sister.
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While Mamabgere and Malatja are going to vote, Walter Ndlovu has lost confidence that doing so would change anything.
Ndlovu, 37, who was in central Tzaneen for last-minute Easter shopping, said he was not interested in voting.
He said:
Ndlovu works as a welder in Mafarara, some distance from central Tzaneen.
"Things are tough for business. I get piece jobs here and there to buy mealie-meal and vegetables, but it's difficult."
He said nothing had come after he had been promised an RDP house, a toilet, and support for his business during the last election.
"I don't believe in voting because nothing changes," Ndlovu said.
