ANC confident of retaining seat in a Barrydale 'seeking regeneration'

Cape Town –The ANC is confident that its candidate, William Morris Riddles, will retain Ward 2 in Barrydale in Wednesday’s by-election. 

Local issues dominate the contest for the seat, which became vacant after Local Government MEC Anton Bredell, removed the sitting councillor, John Nortje, according to ANC Western Cape provincial secretary Faiez Jacobs. 

“This is the second time that MEC Bredell has seen fit to remove an ANC councillor. We hope that the voters of Barrydale will vote for the ANC, as they did in 2016,” Jacobs said. 

Jacobs said high electricity bills and water tariffs, dusty roads, a critical housing shortage, the regular flooding of homes in winter and the evictions from farms aggrieved voters. 

Campaigning in Barrydale at the weekend, Jacobs said: “This area is being marketed as tourism haven. Yet, no person of colour owns a business here. 

"We want regeneration to bring progress to this town, but not at the expense of our people.” 

Cape Times