Boitekong residents praise ANC councillor despite dismal surroundings

ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday questioned his team on whether the homeowners he visited during his door-to-door in Rustenburg were not told what to say to him before his arrival.

Although he said it in jest, Ramaphosa, confronted with the state of affairs in Boitekong, was bewildered that at every house he visited, residents sang the praises of the ANC and its ward councillor.

As he entered the third home in Ward 21, where the structure was a shack, Ramaphosa stopped the ward’s councillor, Thabang Rampou, at the gate and asked if the people were not briefed in advance.

“You organised these people didn’t (you), no ke batho ba gago (these are your people),” Ramaphosa said to Rampou.

Rampou responded by telling Ramaphosa this was not the case.

Laughing, Ramaphosa then says: “okay, ne kere go etsagala something (I thought something is up here)”.

Ramaphosa’s concern, although in jest, was as a result of being confronted with the reality of the dire state of affairs in North West since his arrival for the party’s January 8 celebrations this weekend.

From potholes the size of soccer balls, uneven and bumpy roads to housing and water crises, residents in Boitekong painted a grim picture for Ramaphosa, who would have clearly witnessed the state of affairs.

So bad is the situation in Boitekong that Ramaphosa, probably for safety reasons, was flown in and out of the area in a military chopper that waited for him a few kilometres away on a makeshift landing strip.

After his door-to-door visits, the president sang praises of Rampou, one of the ANC’s young councillors whom Ward 21 residents said was doing a good job.

Ramaphosa was told that Rampou had been an exemplary councillor who took an interest in issues affecting his community.

“We went into a few houses here in Ward 21, we were with branch leaders here, we met with a young man of 34 called Thabang, this guy as we walked with him, we heard that he is working,” Ramaphosa said to applause from the community during a cake-cutting ceremony.

“He had been telling us that he is working but I listened with just one ear because I thought he was pulling wool over our eyes, but as we went into the different houses, it is them who then told us of the work that this branch is doing under the leadership of this young man called Thabang.”

Ramaphosa said this was the kind of leadership the ANC will look for when selecting councillor candidates ahead of the local government elections due later this year.

The party will hold its official 114th year celebrations at the Moruleng Stadium in Rustenburg on Saturday.