Mantashe happy with progress in housing delivery

THE ANC is happy with the progress of service delivery in Nelson Mandela Bay and particularly the gains made in the provision of housing.

This was said by ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe who, ironically, was speaking in front of dilapidated shacks in the impoverished Walmer township in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

Mantashe was leading a small group of ANC members on a low-key, door-to-door election campaign ahead of the local government elections on August 3.

Commenting that he and his party were pleased at the “phase-by-phase” progress of service delivery, Mantashe said: “With houses, we are doing very well”.

Referring specifically to Walmer township, Mantashe noted the human and shack congestion in the area.

“The density of the land must be normalised,” he said.

Questioned about the unusually high number of visits by leading ANC figures to the metro ahead of the elections, Mantashe refused to place any specific importance on Nelson Mandela Bay or compare its importance to other metros or regions in the country.

“We want to win every place. We want to rule everywhere. We want to win back Cape Town,” he said.

“We are always in Nelson Mandela Bay. We come here all the time.

“So this [increased high level visits] is not about elections, we want Nelson Mandela Bay to do well [economically and socially] as a region.”

Mantashe would not be drawn into President Jacob Zuma’s court woes, after he lost his appeal against the reinstatement of hundreds of corruption charges against him last week.

Mantashe’s seemingly unannounced visit delighted a number of Walmer township residents, including Bulelani Samson, 32, who was visibly shocked when he appeared in his doorway. “Wow. He shook my hand. Wow,” Samson said. “What a surprise. I always see him on TV and suddenly he is standing in my house.

“Wow, I am very happy,” he said.