PLETTENBERG BAY POLITICAL NEWS - Residents of Bitou Municipality will be spoilt for choice in the 2021 local government elections as a new political party, Ikhwezi Political Movement (IPM), is in the process of registering to contest the elections in Bitou.
According to the party's senior leader, Noksie Kolwapi, the party will offer voters an alternative to the traditional ANC and DA.
"These two parties have lost touch with local government interests. This is because they are national parties and therefore they are only interested in national issues. Now is the time for local parties that will be interested in fixing local issues," she said.
Objectives
Kolwapi said the ANC and DA are too far removed from the community and don't fully grasp the issues faced by voters on the local level.
"We aim to be the voice for the voiceless on the ground. We also believe that the residents of Plettenberg Bay are the best people to resolve their issues. We are tired of having outsiders brought in to fix our own problems. It is time that senior officials such as the municipal manager and heads of departments are people who come from the local community, because they know and understand the issues," she said.
Kolwapi said they want people who have the best interests of Plettenberg Bay at heart.
"We want people who will ensure that their communities are developed. We are tired of townships being seen as pockets of poverty. It is time that real investment is allocated to townships in order to revitalise township economy to become pockets of prosperity," she said.
Kolwapi said the aim and objective of the party is to promote economic development for the benefit of all, especially the marginalised township economies; to attract investment and business that will ensure local job creation; to support and promote tourism within township economies; to fight for social justice; to eliminate the vast social and economic inequalities created by apartheid and to support and advance the fight against gender-based violence.
Have your say
The party has issued a notice for registration of a party. Anyone wishing to raise an objection against the intended registration must do so by written notice, setting out the grounds for the objections. It must be delivered at the office of the Chief Electoral Officer within fourteen days after the publication of the notice.
'We bring you the latest Plettenberg Bay, Garden Route news'
