South Africa's ruling party wants mayoral candidates to advance socio-economic transformation

 The ruling African National Congress (ANC) on Sunday expressed confidence in the mayoral candidates it has presented for the upcoming local government elections to advance its programme of radical socio-economic transformation.

This came after the ANC's National Executive Committee (NEC) met in a special meeting in Pretoria to consider and finalise ANC mayoral candidates towards the local elections scheduled for August 3.

"The finalization of mayoral candidates is the culmination of an extensive process of internal democracy, which placed at its core the wishes of our people and structures," ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe said.

The candidates were considered for the metropolitan municipalities and other strategic municipalities defined as such on the basis of their history, geo-political location, growth and development trajectory and economic activity amongst others.

Eight Provincial Executive Committees submitted their recommendations to the NEC for assessment. The Northern Cape Province was given an extension to conclude their list for strategic municipalities.

"The ANC calls on all its structures and our communities to support them as they lead us to an overwhelming victory for the ANC in the local government elections," Mantashe said.

The ANC has been on the ground interacting with the South African people across the length and breadth of the country, he said.

"We have no doubt that South Africans, in their overwhelming majority, will renew the mandate of the ANC to build on the solid foundation over the last 15 years of democratic local governance," said Mantashe.

In the local elections, voters will elect local council members, who in turn will elect mayors of municipalities.

The ANC, haunted by corruption scandals and poor governance, is facing the most fierce competition from the opposition since the end of apartheid in 1994.

Opposition parties, particularly the Democratic Alliance and Economic Freedom Fighters, have vowed to take over Johannesburg, Pretoria and Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality from the ANC

source : xinhua