By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) electoral committee rejected requests to waive the matric certificate requirement for councillor candidates, citing insufficient justification.
The candidates without matric must pledge to obtain the qualification within 12 months or face removal from the lists.
South African Local Government Association (Salga) reported 26-27% of councillors lack matric, sparking debate on governance and councillor qualifications.
A letter written to the ANC Secretary-General and the Provincial Leadership Committee requested a waiver for councillors without matric certificates.
In a letter, the committee stated that, “the electoral committee has received your request for waivers on behalf of candidates without a matric certificate in your province.”
“Upon assessment of your motivation and attached documents, the electoral committee regrets to inform you that nine of the candidates qualify for a waiver as contemplated in the rules and the guidelines in the BEC.”
ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula stressed that the party will not allow new councillor candidates without matric certificates to contest the upcoming elections.
Mbalula briefed the media on the sidelines of the National Executive Committee (NEC) Meeting in Kempton Park.
He said the party will apply strict competence requirements.
“You cannot be a mayoral candidate of the ANC if you don’t have a university postgraduate qualification and you are not qualified.”
“And you must have also a little bit of experience in running a municipality and sophisticated economies,”
The NEC is meeting to finalise its lists ahead of their release next month.
Mbalula has also threatened to report the Democratic Alliance (DA) to the IEC after two members of the party attended the manifesto launch on Sunday as undercover agents.
He said this shows fear and desperation on the DA’s part.
The party’s manifesto outlines six actions that will help the ANC rebuild lost trust with its supporters.
The six commitments are:
- Providing affordable water and electricity.
- Creating more jobs and attracting investment in communities.
- Promoting safer streets, cleaner neighbourhoods and healthier communities.
- Ensuring municipal finances are used to meet residents’ needs.
- Building municipalities that are well-run and accountable.
- Building municipalities that listen to residents and account to them.
The ANC heads into the elections after years of declining electoral – it won 62% of the vote in 2011, 53.9% in 2016 and 47.5% in 2021. A recent Social Research Foundation poll put the ANC at 34% nationally, ahead of the DA with 27%, but the ANC was trailing the DA in Gauteng’s three metros.
Read the full manifesto here: https://www.anc1912.org.za/.