An election debate in City Hall on Friday night 14 March saw partisan supporters cheering for, and jeering at, the three political parties which participated.
An election debate in City Hall on Friday night 14 March saw partisan supporters cheering for, and jeering at, the three political parties which participated.
The event was open to all parties, but only the African National Congress (ANC), Agang SA and the Democratic Alliance (DA) attended.
They were joined by around 100 supporters, who were vocal throughout the event and had to repeatedly be brought to order so that speakers could proceed.
One audience member asked: “Is this democracy in action, or is it just who shouts the loudest?”
Due to a last-minute cancellation by Eastern Cape MEC, Mlibo Qoboshiyane Councillor, Julia Wells, stepped in for the ANC.
Ben Mafani spoke for Agang, and the DA was represented by Kevin Mileham.
Wells spoke about the ANC achievements over the past 20 years, including increased economic growth over the last 20 years and the one million jobs that have been created since the global economic crisis in 2008.
“We have demonstrated exactly what freedom means.
"Some people imagined that apartheid could be lost in 20 years (but) the task is long, (and) the headway we have made is enormous,” she said.
Mafani talked about Agang SA’s dream to reclaim the promise that South Africa has seen fade over the past years.
He said there are five pillars in its manifesto: land reform, education, empowerment, employment and effective governance.
Mafani said that Agang SA would want to transfer 50% of land for residential use, and would introduce competency testing for teachers across the country.
The party would also impose a minimum sentence of 15 years for officials found guilty of corruption, he said.
Mafani was vociferously supported by the Agang SA members who had gathered for the debate, but was loudly heckled by the larger crowd of ANC supporters.
The DA’s Mileham criticised the ANC for a variety of issues.
Amid calls from the crowd to “speak about the DA” Mileham spoke about its track record and manifesto.
He said that in the Western Cape the DA spends 76% of its budget on the poor, creating "an open opportunity society for all’.
He said the DA would employ 15 000 more teachers and ensure that textbooks were delivered on time.
Its economic policy focuses on small business and breaking up inefficient corporations giving the shares to the public to increase competition, he said.
When the floor was opened not many questions about the problems facing Makana or how they planned to be fixed were posed.
Despite the heated debate, Mileham remarked that it was unlikely that anyone’s mind had been changed during the debate.
