After having been off the political radar, former Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Danny Jordaan was back on the campaign trail for the ANC on Sunday ahead of the upcoming Ward 37 byelection.
Jordaan, who was alongside ANC regional task team convener Nceba Faku, was out in Barberry Road, Bethelsdorp, in the Bay’s northern areas, campaigning for Wednesday’s byelection.
“I don’t think full commitment [in politics] is possible now but I’ll come when I’m asked to by the ANC,” he said.
“Right now I’m worried about how Bafana [Bafana] will perform in Afcon [Africa Cup of Nations], how Banyana [Banyana] will perform in the World Cup, so those are the issues occupying my mind right now,” he said.
On Sunday, women both young and old flocked to Jordaan’s side, shaking his hand and taking selfies with him while he smiled politely.
The SA Football Association president was last seen campaigning for the ANC in the run-up to the 2016 municipal elections.
At the time he was campaigning as the ANC’s mayoral candidate before the party lost out to the DA in a dramatic election.
Jordaan was appointed mayor in May 2015 by the ANC, in the hopes of making inroads with coloured voters.
At the time, the ANC was hamstrung by factional battles, prompting its national bosses to replace then mayor Ben Fihla with Jordaan.
After the ANC lost the Bay election, Jordaan, who was meant to continue as a PR councillor for the ANC, returned to his role as Safa president and had not been seen campaigning for the ANC until Sunday.
Asked why he had not been active since 2016, he said: “I don’t think there was a reason for me to be active because I was busy with a lot of things, but I am here now to support the ANC and the candidate.“I lived in this area, my home is in this area, so it’s good for me to be back, see the people, and I feel their spirit.”Jordaan, who was in the metro for the day, said he was focusing on his role as president of Safa.Though he was not active in politics, he said he was following what had been happening in the Bay.“I hope things work out for the better,” he said.“I hope the national elections will straighten out some of the matters and have stability and progress return to the [Bay].“As residents and people who were born here, we want to see Nelson Mandela Bay striving and hopefully get back what we lost.”He said the voter turnout was less than in 2014 – which was to be expected.“When you go anywhere in the world, you’ll hardly find that voter turnout is 90% and 80% but we are getting into the idea of democracy and democratic elections and I think the ANC has done well with the many issues around.“The performance is quite reassuring and shows the people’s confidence in the new leadership,” he said.Meanwhile, addressing a group of women for the ANC’s Mother’s Day programme, Faku said the ANC’s Ward 37 councillor candidate Norman Malambo would work to keep the community safe.“When we vote for him we’ll be sending him to a council that is not friendly.“This area has housing issues, but the most pressing issue is crime.“This area needs safety and security and when Norman is the councillor, he needs to work closely with the community police forum and ensure that the ANC has patrols day and night to keep our people safe,” Faku said.Wards 35 and 37 became vacant when the Port Elizabeth High Court ruled in December that DA turncoat councillors Trevor Louw and Neville Higgins were no longer councillors.Higgins and Louw appealed in January but their application was dismissed.