Election on water and jobs: Limpopo opposition accuses Mbeki and Zuma of lying to voters

An opposition party in Limpopo has accused two former South African presidents of lying to voters to garner support during past elections, adding that President Cyril Ramaphosa may not be immune to such tactics ahead of the Local Government Elections on 4 November.

Secretary-general of the Bolsheviks Party of South Africa, Seun Mogotjie, whose party holds seats in Sekhukhune District, Elias Motsoaledi, and Ephraim Mogale local municipalities, accused former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma of lying to voters in 2002 and 2014 respectively.

“ANC leaders have a reputation for making empty promises to communities during election seasons,” Mogotjie said on Wednesday.

In 2002, Mbeki visited Sekhukhune District where he declared the region a nodal point of development.

He ordered government to unleash resources to turn the mineral-rich region – rich in platinum, palladium, iridium and related metals – into an industrial hub where unemployment, poverty and underdevelopment would become a thing of the past.

But 24 years later, Mogotjie said, the official unemployment rate in Sekhukhune was approximately 40.9%, while youth unemployment among people aged 15 to 34 stood at 60.6%.

In 2014, former president Jacob Zuma made another promise to the people of Muyexe in Giyani, he said.

“Zuma had visited the area to hand over a new purification plant. This was after the town was hard-hit by persistent drought that gave rise to opportunistic diseases such as malaria and typhoid. The area’s two main water sources, Nsami and Middle Letaba dams, had dried up. Most villagers resorted to drinking unpurified water from valleys, fountains and rivers. They got sick, with dozens admitted at Nkensani Hospital, while others died.

“It was during that visit that Zuma promised the community of Muyexe that they would start eating ‘pasta instead of pap’. Today, water, roads and unemployment continue to haunt the people of Muyexe,” said Mogotjie during a recent interview with The Citizen in Limpopo.

The trip is part of The Citizen‘s travels across the length and breadth of the country to explore the lives, struggles, successes, and frustrations of everyday South Africans ahead of this year’s local government elections.

He added that 24 of the 55 villages promised clean running water in Giyani were still without access to it.

The Mopani District Municipality had not responded to a media inquiry at the time of publication. Its spokesperson, Mildred Risaba, said senior managers were busy and would revert.

Work on the Presidential Giyani Bulk Water Project began in August 2014 and was set to be completed in 2017 at a cost of more than R500 million.

But more than R4.5 billion has already been spent on the project, while some communities remain without reliable water supplies.

Six water and sanitation ministers from 2014 to 2026 – Buyelwa Sonjica, Nomvula Mokonyane, Lindiwe Sisulu, Gugile Nkwinti, Senzo Mchunu and Pemmy Majodina – have been dispatched to oversee the project, yet it remains protracted and incomplete.

Sada slams R20bn water diversion

President of the Socialist Agenda of the Dispossessed Africans (Sada), Aubrey Ngoatle, said he was gravely worried about past and current ANC-deployed leadership.

In March 2024, Minister Mchunu visited Sekhukhune to inspect key phases of the R2.5-billion Loskop Bulk Water Supply Project, which transfers water from Loskop Dam in Mpumalanga to Moutse in Limpopo. It remains incomplete.

“In 2007, one of the biggest dams in Limpopo, De Hoop Dam, was built. Including the larger Olifants River Water Resources Development Programme, overall long-term projections run up to R20 billion.

“My concern is that huge pipes buried underground pass through villages in Tubatse to provide water over 100km to either Polokwane or Phalaborwa, while thirsty villagers go months without this basic human right,” Ngoatle said.

Ngoatle also cited the R143-million Moutse Drought Relief project injected by former minister Sisulu during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, which he said failed to deliver long-term relief and was spent by short-term tankering, JoJo tanks and limited borehole refurbishments.

“We are rooted in Pan-Africanism and the principle of self-reliance and self-determination. If an opportunity to form a coalition after the elections arises, Sada shall work with all progressive forces of the left, excluding right-wing movements, liberals and conservative parties,” he said.

DA: First choice is outright majority.

The third biggest party in Limpopo, the DA, has four seats in the Limpopo Legislature and many more across the province’s 27 councils.

Provincial chair Jacques Smalle said voting for the DA on 4 November will stop corruption and restore services.

“As the DA in Limpopo, we will build professional, corruption-free municipalities, get water flowing and the lights working, fight for safer communities, clean up our neglected towns and cities, and turn local government into an engine for investment, opportunity and jobs.”

On coalitions, Smalle said the DA’s first priority is to provide stable government.

“Where voters make a coalition necessary, we will work with parties that can agree on a programme of clean government, respect for the constitution and the rule of law, merit-based appointments, sound financial management, reliable basic services and economic growth. We will not trade those principles for positions.

“We are working to show growth across the province and to bring the ANC under 50% in as many municipalities as possible. For the first time, we have DA ward candidates in every ward.”

EFF: ANC on life support

EFF provincial chair, Lawrence Mapoulo, said his party is the best replacement for the ANC.

Mapoulo is a former executive mayor of Polokwane, Limpopo’s richest council, and former executive mayor of Capricorn District.

“We know governance inside out, and we are not scared of either the DA or the ANC. We are ready to govern, and we will deliver basic services with precision and distinction.”

He described the ANC as a patient in ICU.

“This party was given more than 32 years to improve lives and fight the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality. But because it is on life support, it failed dismally.

“Come November 4, the ANC will rue the day it was born because the red berets will be the only party in Limpopo to go home in a jovial mood,” Mapoulo said.

ANC: Limpopo remains our home

ANC Limpopo spokesperson Tonny Ernest Rachoene, who is also MEC for Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure, said the ANC is ready for the 2026 Local Government Elections.

He said the party is confident in its organisational strength and continued work in communities, adding that Limpopo is the home of the ANC.

“Our preparations are focused on ensuring that the party is ready to contest all wards. We are mobilising our structures, engaging communities and presenting our vision through our #Mayihlome campaign. We are saying ANC Motho-Mothong, meaning we are interfacing with communities,” Rachoene said.

On coalitions, he said the ANC would continue to engage the electorate respectfully.

“Where governing arrangements become necessary, the ANC will consider the constitutional responsibilities of local government, the interests of communities and the need for stable and effective municipalities.”

Rachoene said the ANC’s machinery is anchored in its provincial election team, regional structures, branches, ward structures, and volunteers, focusing on door-to-door campaigns, public meetings, candidate preparation and voter registration.

“Our campaign is focused on the issues that matter: better roads, water, electricity, refuse removal, housing, local economic development and municipal performance.”

After the 2024 National and Provincial Elections, the ANC secured 48 of the 64 seats in the Limpopo Legislature. The remainder went to: EFF 9, DA 4, MK party 1, UAT 1, and VF Plus 1.

“It is therefore clear that the ANC remains the majority party in the Limpopo Provincial Legislature. We are contesting these elections to secure the confidence of the people.

“We are definitely not planning to fail, and the PEC, as led by comrade Phophi Ramathuba, is very clear on that,” he said.