KNYSNA NEWS - Former Knysna mayor Aubrey Tsengwa, who was the victorious candidate in last week's Ward 8 by-election, has recommitted himself to improving service delivery in his ward.

Speaking for the first time since his re-election, in which he garnered 52.12% of the total vote, he said his task ahead was to ensure good service to his ward in terms of infrastructure, reducing unemployment and promoting youth development "to keep them off the streets doing bad things".

Tsengwa, who is temporarily suspended from the ANC, was officially sworn in as councillor on Tuesday 1 July by the speaker, Mark Willemse.

Tsengwa said even though the PA has drastically reduced his majority and polled more than 700 votes, it was not significant, as "the people have spoken".

Disgruntlement

Asked if there was an element of disgruntle-ment in the showing of the PA, he said it was part of a "contestation" process.

In May, during a registration drive for the by-election, there was a fracas among factions in the ANC which resulted in various charges of assault being laid between the two groups.

Tsengwa said some members of the ANC who contested against him might have voted elsewhere (such as for the PA).

"It is their democratic right. The PA [under normal circumstances] would never have achieved the votes they had in Ward 8."

ANC provincial leader and spokesperson Khalid Sayed said the showing of the PA in the by-election "did not necessarily" represent a disgruntlement with Tsengwa.

Voting trends

Sayed agreed with Tsengwa that their vote was their democratic choice. "People make certain decisions based on what they feel a particular political party offers them. We cannot completely say [what lay behind the outcome] because we do not have a record of the membership and voting trends of the ward."

Sayed said the ANC now needs to do more in the municipality "to ensure that those people regain trust in the African National Congress".

In an interview with Knysna-Plett Herald shortly before being sworn in, Tsengwa said the will of the people will be respected. "I will continue in future with what I started - skills training, concentrating on unemployment, work for women with disabilities, and encouraging the development of the SMME sector, to enable people to start their own businesses."

Tsengwa is also still facing his temporary suspension from the ANC, because of his unilateral resignation as a councillor that necessitated the by-election.

Tsengwa resigned before the provincial minister of local government, Anton Bredell, could remove him based on the recommendations of an inquiry into the illegal payment of political appointees. He was also removed as mayor in February during a no-confidence motion.

Election not tough

Sayed said it was the provincial working committee (PWC) of the ANC that was driving the matter to temporarily suspend Tsengwa. He said Tsengwa had been charged and the matter will be addressed in a meeting later this week, as Tsengwa is now a ward councillor of the ANC.

Tsengwa said the by-election was "not tough at all", in spite of having to contend with the usual trend in by-elections of low voter turnout (51.05%,compared with 53% during the last local government election).

"The result showed that the work I had put in before as a Knysna councillor - dealing with unemployment, youth development infrastructure, like constructing roads and improve lighting in the area - [has been noticed].

"I will ensure that the community is provided with water, sanitation and infrastructure, like building new roads."

Uniting the ANC

Regarding the future, he said: "It's simple. I'm there to serve. Build confidence and trust in me as a ward councillor. I'm here to work for the poor and the poorest. As a ward councillor I am going to continue concentrating on areas that will improve the living conditions in my ward. Give them support [and] improve skills among our own people so that we don't have to employ people from outside, like Gauteng or the Eastern Cape".

He said his re-election goes a long way to overcome issues of contestation and create peace within the region. "I hope to now pull the ANC together. This victory for the ANC brought people together. The people have spoken. My win shows I was recognised as the preferred candidate."

‘We bring you the latest Garden Route, Hessequa, Karoo news’