UDM aims to tackle corruption head-on

They come from different political parties but these campaign managers have one thing in common – they are all after your vote. Reporters THULANI GQIRANA and MKHULULI NDAMASE take a closer look at the people who are likely to come knocking on your doorstep.

HIGHLY vocal and always ready to lay into the ANC, UDM provincial chairman Mongameli Bobani is the face and driver of the party’s campaign in the province.

He believes the next two months will be more than enough time to get voters to cast their X next to party leader Bantu Holomisa’s face in the May elections.

From challenging the former city manager Lindiwe Msengana-Ndlela’s qualifications to campaigning for more service delivery in the protest-stricken Uitenhage area, Bobani does not shy away from publicity.

Bobani, a founding member of the UDM, said the party had big plans for its campaign in the province.

“The UDM is the only party that has [bill] boards all around the Eastern Cape with our president’s face, boards showing a message that the party is serious about fighting corruption.

“Corruption in this country is now a cancer and our campaign is rooted in the fact that it is one of the first things we plan to tackle should the UDM be voted into power.”

The 46-year-old father of four said the party would also be doing door-to-door campaigns to educate the voters on what the UDM stood for.

“We will be telling residents that one of our main objectives is to improve the health of our people and that there is more than enough money in the budget to take care of their health.

“We will be telling them to vote for us because the ruling party has failed them, and detail to them what we have to offer.”

Bobani said one of the issues the UDM planned to push was the ANC’s failure to eradicate the bucket system in the Eastern Cape. “It is 20 years into this democracy and people are still living in squalor when they do not have to.

“During our campaign, we will be focusing on some of the real issues of Eastern Cape people, and telling them not to give the ANC another chance not to deliver. We will prioritise our drive against crime, because people are living in fear in their own homes.

“We will be visible just about everywhere in the province with rallies, motorcades and telling the people not to lose hope.”

He said the party had a fighting chance as long as the other parties played fair.

In 2006, Bobani accused the ANC of pulling down its local government election posters. This week, Bobani said the party wanted a fair chance.

“We want these elections to be a true reflection of what the voters want. We are more than ready to tackle the province.” – Thulani Gqirana