The desperation of the ANC and EFF to cling to power in Gamagara Municipality has been laid bare. It has now emerged that both parties are willing to spend hundreds of thousands of rands in taxpayers’ money to push through irrational ward demarcations designed to secure its political survival.
During Monday’s Special Council meeting, the ANC and EFF voted to authorise the Municipal Manager to use public funds to oppose the Democratic Alliance’s (DA’s) court challenge against the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB). This politically driven decision seeks to defend manipulated ward boundaries and is not in the best interests of residents.
Even more concerning is that the ANC has been exposed as the instigator behind the controversial ward delimitation proposals it previously pretended to oppose at the IEC meeting on 27 February 2026. These proposals deliberately fracture DA strongholds and carve up communities in ways that defy logic, geography, and public input.
- Examples of these irrational demarcations include:
Forcing Siyathemba into a ward with Mapoteng, despite no shared border, instead of linking it with neighbouring Rooisand or Bestwood.
- Merging Kathu’s Phase 1 and 2, along with parts of old Kathu, into a single ward with Babatas and Riemvasmaak (Deben), creating an impractical ward with areas up to 40 kilometres apart.
The ANC is now on record as backing these flawed maps and committing public funds to defend them, showing its earlier “opposition” to be nothing more than political theatre.
The DA in Gamagara will continue to challenge these unlawful ward demarcations in court. We are calling for the reinstatement of the MDB’s September 2025 Draft 2, which followed proper public participation and was supported by over 3 000 residents. The final maps published on 15 December 2025 must be set aside, as they were irregularly introduced and undermine the integrity of the entire demarcation process.
The DA will continue to oppose the ANC’s attempts to hold onto power at the expense of democratic principles and fair representation.