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- The ANC and IFP have looked towards otherworldly intervention in their by-election bid for Ward 2 in the uMvoti Municipality.
- King Misizulu ka Zwelithini's advisor and Abantu Batho Congress President, Philani Mavundla, is one of the candidates who are looking to take over the ward.
- Mavundla dumped both the ANC in eThekwini and IFP in uMvoti after disagreements with the two parties' head honchos.
The ANC, IFP and Abantu Batho Congress (ABC) are slugging it out in a by-election for the water-scarce Ward 2 in rural Matimatolo in the uMvoti Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal.
The ANC has placed its faith in Pastor Dan Khumalo, who has been its branch secretary since 2011.
The party wants to hold onto the ward after its previous councillor died.
The ANC recently deployed first deputy secretary-general, Nomvula Mokonyane, and Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga to campaign in the area last month.
Meanwhile, the IFP has put forward Zwakushiwo Zondi in its attempts to wrestle the ward from its political arch-nemesis.
A man reportedly identified as IFP councillor Bhojasi Dlamini, clad in party regalia, was seen in a video tweeted by 1KZNTV using muthi a day ahead of the crucial by-election.
In the video, a man cheers Dlamini on, screaming "bachithe!" - loosely translated to mean "get rid of them" - as another heckled "ayisebenzi lento", meaning "this thing doesn't work".
Attempts to reach Dlamini proved futile.
READ | Abantu Batho Congress leader Philani Mavundla resigns from eThekwini metro
Meanwhile, ABC leader Philani Mavundla has resurfaced in Matimatolo, where he has thrown his hat in the ring for the Ward 2 councillor position.
Mavundla recently resigned as eThekwini deputy mayor after disagreements with the ANC.
He also dropped the IFP as a coalition partner after a fallout in uMvoti.
Mavundla, who was the former mayor of uMvoti when he was still an ANC member, was recently appointed as an advisor to Zulu King Misizulu ka Zwelithini.
The ward became vacant after ANC councillor Mdu Ngcobo died in a car accident last year.
Khumalo, 42, who worked closely with the late councillor, said:"The other issue is the water situation, which is a national competence. But we've intervened using JoJo tanks. We're making sure that residents are continually supplied with water."
Khumalo - a pastor at the God's Presence Fellowship Church in Matimatolo - said the ward's leadership had recently spoken to Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu about the water crisis.
He vowed to carry on that conversation if elected.
"Minister Mchunu is going to deal with this, especially with the district municipality, local municipality. We've told him about the water issues," Khumalo said, adding Mchunu had visited the ward earlier this month.
He added the ward had been able to draw government leaders to the ward, including Transport, Community Safety and Liaison MEC Sipho Hlomuka, so that access roads could be built soon.
Khumalo said Human Settlements and Public Works MEC Sipho Nkosi also visited the ward to address the housing situation.
"I've been in politics since 2011 up until now. I've been re-elected as secretary of the ward since then," he added.
The ANC in the province deployed its provincial leadership, including chairperson Siboniso Duma, deputy chairperson Nomagugu Simelane, and provincial treasurer Ntuthuko Mahlaba, to the by-election on Wednesday.
