There is a glimmer of hope among residents of Emfuleni over the possibility that their municipality will be governed through a coalition as they believe this could improve service delivery.
By late Wednesday, ANC was leading the municipality's votes tally by 39.43%, followed by the DA with 27.4% and the EFF with 15.62%.
The emerging picture showed that the municipality might have no outright winner for the first time in two decades. This would bring to an end ANC majority rule in the troubled council and this prospect has left some residents rejoicing.
James Ntabeni of Bophelong township said he has hope that things would work out differently when more than one party is in power.
“I think the coalition will work. This time there will be no-one who is the alpha and omega. Parties in the coalition will police each other…It is the first time it happens Emfuleni. Let us give it a chance. Maybe it will work and they will police each other and service delivery can improve,” Ntabeni said.
“Whoever governs must ensure that there is service delivery. They must ensure that residents of Emfuleni are the ones who get job opportunities when projects are implemented. In the past we’ve seen companies from outside coming to do work here while locals do not have employment.”
Khumshile Balekani from Sebokeng Hostel said having more than one party running the municipality would make things a little better for residents who expect services to be delivered.
“We will have more than one party working to ensure that there is service delivery. In the past it was one party ruling and opposition parties pulling the other way. In that situation, there was no progress,” Balekani said.
“We need service delivery here. The situation is bad. Roads are a mess and we have sewage flowing into the streets.”
The Emfuleni local municipality was plunged into chaos in the past five years with record poor service delivery that led to its collapse. The provincial government placed the municipality under administration after a series of failures including poor revenue collection, debt and deterioration of services such as roads to communities.
Bokang Mbuthuma, a resident of Sharpeville where raw sewage runs on the streets, said whoever gets to be part of the coalition government must prioritise service delivery and promoting the rich heritage that his township has.
“We need to see basic services being delivered in our municipality. I’d like the new administration to preserve the history of Sharpeville. Emfuleni has a rich history. There was Sharpeville massacre and the Boipatong massacre but there are no tourists visiting our area,” he said.
“The municipality must work hard to ensure that services are brought back and our rich heritage is promoted. Our town, Vereeniging, is in a bad state.”
