On the surface, white South African ex-farmer Athol Trollip seems an unlikely candidate for mayor of a metropolitan district named after the ANC’s great liberation hero, Nelson Mandela.
Yet local elections this week have shown a shift in South African society and politics, which have been dominated by race since Mandela swept to power in 1994.
The results may even mark the start of a new era, distinct from the ‘post-apartheid’ period that immediately followed the end of white-minority rule, as the African National Congress wakes up to the changed reality that it can no longer rely on the unquestioning support of poor black voters.
Angry about corruption, unemployment and shoddy basic services, many ANC supporters have turned to the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) – making a switch that was unthinkable only a few years ago when the party was still seen as the political home of wealthy whites.
Voters have also become disillusioned by festering inequality; black people make up 80 percent of the 54 million population yet, two decades after apartheid, most of the economy in terms of ownership of land and companies remains in the hands of white people, who account for about 8 percent of the population.
DA candidate Trollip, a fluent speaker of the local Xhosa language, is likely to become mayor of the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality after his party won 47 percent of the vote against the ANC’s 41 percent, down from 52 percent five years ago.
The DA is now expected to form a coalition with smaller opposition parties to run a region that has been an ANC stronghold for more than two decades.
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ANC shaken to core as South African voters look beyond race
On the surface, white South African ex-farmer Athol Trollip seems an unlikely candidate for mayor of a metropolitan district named after the ANC’s great liberation hero, Nelson Mandela.
Yet local elections this week have shown a shift in South African society and politics, which have been dominated by race since Mandela swept to power in 1994.
The results may even mark the start of a new era, distinct from the ‘post-apartheid’ period that immediately followed the end of white-minority rule, as the African National Congress wakes up to the changed reality that it can no longer rely on the unquestioning support of poor black voters.
Angry about corruption, unemployment and shoddy basic services, many ANC supporters have turned to the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) – making a switch that was unthinkable only a few years ago when the party was still seen as the political home of wealthy whites.
Voters have also become disillusioned by festering inequality; black people make up 80 percent of the 54 million population yet, two decades after apartheid, most of the economy in terms of ownership of land and companies remains in the hands of white people, who account for about 8 percent of the population.
DA candidate Trollip, a fluent speaker of the local Xhosa language, is likely to become mayor of the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality after his party won 47 percent of the vote against the ANC’s 41 percent, down from 52 percent five years ago.
The DA is now expected to form a coalition with smaller opposition parties to run a region that has been an ANC stronghold for more than two decades.
Source
Visa company bureaucracy trips up Zimbabweans
Over 4,000 Zimbabwean still do not have their special permits
Sibongile* has become unemployed and her accounts have been deactivated. “My life is on hold,” she says. Sibongile, who came to Cape Town from Zimbabwe in 2009, has been unable to get a special permit from the Department of Home Affairs which would allow her to work and bank.
The Zimbabwe Special Dispensation Permit (ZSP) was implemented by Home Affairs in 2009 (it was called the Dispensation of Zimbabweans Project then). Its aim was to help Zimbabweans legalise their stay in South Africa. It was renewed in 2014 and it expires on 31 December 2017.
But there have been complaints of bureaucratic hurdles making it difficult to get a ZSP. It’s difficult to know how many people are in the same position as Sibongile. Refugee rights organisation Passop says it has ten such cases on its database. But there are many more.
Tendai Bhiza of Passop says she desperately wants to know what happened to clients’ applications. “Without proper documents they face the possibility of getting arrested or losing businesses. Some of these people have already lost their jobs,” Bhiza said.
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Party home affairs committee welcomes #ElectionResults
Cape Town – Wednesday’s municipal elections and the results “is testament to the maturity of South Africa’s constitutional democracy”, says Parliament’s home affairs portfolio committee.
In a statement on Sunday, the committee welcomed the announcement of the 2016 municipal elections results by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).
“In our view, the completion of the electoral process is testament to the maturity of South Africa’s constitutional democracy,” committee chairman Lemias Mashile said.
The committee was also satisfied with the prompt manner in which the IEC resolved disputes.
“This has strengthened the confidence that we had in the ability of the commission to deliver a credible, free, and fair election,” he said.
“The committee congratulates all stakeholders that participated in making the elections successful.”
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Airfares and hotel rates to increase – report
Airfares and hotel rates are expected to increase in South Africa in 2017.
According to the 2017 Global Travel Price Outlook compiled by the Global Business Travel Association and Carlson Wagonlit Travel, SA airfares are expected to increase by 4,4% compared with a global increase of only 2,5%. Other African countries are expected to show decreases in airline prices, with Kenya expected to see a 5,8% drop and Nigeria a 6% decrease.
South African hotel rates are also expected to increase by 7%, whereas most other countries in the Middle East and Africa are expected to see a considerable drop in rates.
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