It is Friday morning and a military helicopter is hovering in the sky above Butterworth in the Eastern Cape. President Cyril Ramaphosa is in town to campaign for the governing party. His first stop is Umsobomvu Sports Grounds, where thousands have ga
It is Friday morning and a military helicopter is hovering in the sky above Bu
Umsobomvu is one of the oldest and most impoverished townships in Butterworth. Empty factories are a sad reminder of what was once an economic hub; they closed when the new dispensation took over in 1994 and joblessness is now rife.This is the president’s second rally as he criss-crosses the Eastern Cape. His first stop was in Dimbaza township, outside King William’s Town – also plagued by unemployment.
The ANC supporters are clad in party regalia and wherever the president appears, receive him warmly by singing his campaign song, Phakama Ramaphosa, Ixesha lisondele. Majodina tells the deejay: “This is the only song we’re going to play today.” Ramaphosa makes the point that the country has managed to raise R300 billion following an investment conference last year.
The following day, he addressed two rallies – in Mthatha and Mqanduli. He also held a meeting with acting AbaThembu king Azenathi Dalindyebo, possibly about the much-rumoured release of his father, incarcerated King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo – who is currently serving a 12-year sentence for arson, assault, kidnapping and defeating the ends of justice.
Responding to a group of monarchs who gave him an ultimatum to release Dalindyebo or face a situation where they would tell their subjects not to vote for the ANC, Ramaphosa said he was not working to a deadline, adding: “We don’t know what deadlines are for. We work according to the processes that we must get involved in.”
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