By Special votes are currently underway with some of the officials making their way to their voting districts to cast their votes. Amongst them was the Free State Provincial Legislature Member Mr Thembeni Nxangisa.
Nxangisa says the feeling on the ground is very exciting reminiscent of that of 1994; he says the feeling does not fade as he has been voting and every time he goes to cast his vote; he gets excited. Nxangisa voted in ward 24 in Bloemfontein on Monday, 27 May 2024.
The Member of Legislature says by far, everything is going well and smooth, and is happy to see the number of registered voters taking the elections serious, it shows that those who fought and died for the freedom of people did not die in vain.
As the sixth term has come to an end, looking back at the past five years; Nxangisa is happy with the achievements that the ANC led provincial government has made and says more still needs to be done.
“Serious strides have been made to address poverty and many other challenges; but not everything is hunky-dory, there is still much to improve on. The majority of our people are unemployed; the economy is not doing well and mines a closing down,” said Thembeni Nxangisa.
Nxangisa says the next administration should focus on delivering services to the people of the Free State; though mistakes have been made, they have learnt from them. Amidst the bad, he said education has been the pride of the province, every year topping the country with good results as championed by the late MEC Mr Tate Makgoe.
“ANC is fixing the country in action, it is like fixing an aeroplane in the air but we will get it right. You must remember that we are dealing with a legacy of over 300 years and we cannot get rid of it over night, but we are building now,” he said.
The Member of Legislature says though the economy in the province is not where it should be, the investment conference by the Provincial Government led by Premier Mr Mxolisi Dukwana has made a significant impact attracting more than R2 billion worth of investment, which is good for the markets and businesses and the creation of jobs.
He said the Premier took a step further by initiating the social compact programme, whereby Dukwana traversed the province to engage communities to listen to and give feedback on what is happening in the province, so that everyone is in tune with what is happening in the Free State province.
These elections are like no other, for the first time since the advent of democracy voters will have three ballots, moreover, either than the 52 political parties contesting the national and provincial elections, there are independent candidates. With polls showing that there will be no outright winner in these elections; Nxangisa is confident that the ANC will retain the Free State province.
Thembeni Nxangisa says he is not oblivious to the competition at hand, though the ANC will win, it will not win with the preferred majority; hence the party is out and about to woo voters to the very end of elections.
He urges voters to give the ANC another term so that they can right the wrongs and implement the plans already in place to improve the quality of life for citizens.
