Nelson Mandela Bay councillor Nqaba Bhanga has put his hand up as the DA’s candidate for Eastern Cape premier when the country goes to the polls next year.
Bhanga, who is the DA leader in the province, hopes to run a campaign to reduce the ANC’s majority to below 50%.
To do that, analysts said the DA’s campaign could not be narrowly focused on criticising the ANC, but that Bhanga needed to position his party as a credible alternative to the current government.
In an interview on Monday, Bhanga said he was the only one who had submitted his name for the candidacy.
“My experience in governing will add value to the lives of the people of the Eastern Cape.
“I believe we need to focus on the collapse of the healthcare system in the province because looking at the state of hospitals throughout, they have been badly neglected.
“Our economy in the Eastern Cape cannot solely depend on Nelson Mandela Bay when we have other industries in Mthatha and Da Gama in King William’s Town,” he said.
“We want to rejuvenate these industries and make sure that our rural strategy talks to the industrialisation of those areas and to bring those businesses back to create jobs for our people.”
Political analyst Mcebisi Ndletyana said the DA faced a much more challenging election campaign this time around.
He said the 2014 campaign was made easier for the opposition by the scandalous rule of former president Jacob Zuma.
“It was easier because the DA did not have to demonstrate what they were about but simply pointed at how bad the ANC was.
“It focused its campaign largely on that and people were repulsed by the ANC.
“Even then, the challenge was making inroads into the black communities.
They did not benefit that much.“This is where they haven’t done a good job because the DA faces an identity and ideology crisis – ideological in the sense that the party is unsure what role the state should play in catering for the poor and a major issue for them is redress and affirmative action.”
Ndletyana said Bhanga’s main focus should be on winning the black vote and that he was a better premier candidate than the DA’s previous candidate, Athol Trollip.
“He’s got a national profile, he’s well known in the Eastern Cape, he’s a good speaker and a hard worker and he’s credible.
“The challenge is now, how sellable is he? How well can he sell the DA to those on the fence? ”
Ndletyana asked. Political analyst Ongama Mtimka said candidates could no longer shout about the failures of other parties without convincing the electorate that they could do better.
“Political parties are now in an environment where what is vital to win elections is becoming more about performance and people’s perception about who is more likely to perform and who isn’t.
“There is no longer a given support base for any electorate. “The good thing about voter behaviour in South Africa currently is that it is there for the taking because traditional support bases can no longer be taken for granted,” Mtimka said. “Credibility is key.”
He said Bhanga was a politician who had shown the ability to navigate tough political situations.
“Nqaba would have to come up with a message and practical examples of how they’re going to make sure they build an administration capable of delivering services to the people on time and within budget.”