Themba Godi, president of the African People’s Convention (APC), has called on voters to support councillors who will deliver essential services rather than those imposed by political parties, speaking during the announcement of APC mayoral candidates for Dr JS Moroka, Thembisile Hani, and Bushbuckridge municipalities in Bushbuckridge on Thursday.

Godi Criticises Current Candidate Selection Practices

During the party meeting, Godi criticised how some political parties select councillors, arguing that certain candidates are chosen to enable top officials to exploit municipal resources. He accused these parties of valuing loyalty over capability and highlighted the risks this poses to effective governance.

“Those who are mismanaging the municipalities right now have no intention of changing. Some of them, I mean, if you look here in Bushbuckridge, you look at the candidate selections of some parties, you can see that the objective is to have blind people as councillors so that the top guys can use them to do all the wrong things,” Godi said.

He further stated, “We cannot expect those who have created the problems to solve them. That is why we are saying those who can’t manage public funds, they have no business being re-elected into government because they’ve proven to themselves that they can’t.”

Rural Service Delivery And Local Concerns

APC members present at the meeting voiced satisfaction with the newly announced candidates, stressing the need for representatives who respond quickly to community needs and avoid betraying voters’ trust. One party member said, “We have deployed cadres that we believe they can bring changes, the finest cadres in South Africa. Cadres which are quick to respond to the needs of the people. So my message to them is don’t betray the people, those who voted for you. Don’t be like other organizations.”

Residents in the affected rural areas continue to face challenges such as impassable gravel roads during the rainy season and persistent water shortages, despite substantial municipal budgets. An APC member noted, “If you can go down to the deep rural areas, there are a lot of gravel roads that are not accessible in terms of raining seasons. People cannot move from one place to another, but hence we’ve got a municipality that’s got billions, a budget of billions. And then number two, we’ve got shortage of water. These are basic needs that need to be addressed.”

Godi’s remarks come as communities across Mpumalanga raise ongoing concerns about local government mismanagement and poor service delivery, especially in rural regions. Municipal election campaigns are expected to heighten public scrutiny of candidate selection processes and local governance standards in the coming months.

The APC’s mayoral candidates will be campaigning in Dr JS Moroka, Thembisile Hani, and Bushbuckridge ahead of the upcoming local government elections.