Shivambu promises to wipe off Soweto electricity debt, refuses to reveal mayoral candidate for City of Joburg

The founder of the Afrika Mayibuye Movement, Floyd Shivambu, says his party will scrap Soweto’s historic electricity debt if it wins the City of Johannesburg in the upcoming local government elections.

“Why do you say the people of Soweto owe Eskom an upward of R3-10 billion where are the people of Soweto going to get that money, we already as Afrika Mayibuye Movement have a tangible solution and the first thing that we will put in the City of Johannesburg is to eradicate the historical debt of all the Soweto residents in relation to electricity,” he said on Saturday.

Shivambu promises jobs

Shivambu said Soweto’s debt to Eskom is partly due to the rate boycotts that happened before 1994.

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“The rate boycotts were legitimate instruments to fight against the illegitimate government of apartheid, to now come back later and say the people of Soweto must pay money for utilising an instrument of protest is not sensible, that is why we are saying we are going to eradicate the debt,” he said.

Shivambu said his party will open work opportunities for everyone and not just for people between the ages of 18 and 35.

“Jobs are going to be given to everyone as long as you are able to work you are capable for working, you will be employed by a Mayibuye run municipality, there won’t be any limitation,” he said.

Mayoral candidates

Shivambu also announced the mayoral candidates for the different municipalities in Gauteng. He told his supporters that he would not announce the mayoral candidate for the City of Johannesburg because he or she is finalising some “assignments” elsewhere.

“Where he or she is currently working, will not be permitted to take over the mayoral candidature, they have given a notice that by the end of September they will be done and they will join in the campaign trail.”

He said the mystery candidate is not being imposed by the party, but that her appointment resulted from party processes.

“There is no Helen Zille who is going to be the mayor of the City of Johannesburg, there is no Frank Chikane who is going to be mayor of Johannesburg, the less said about others the better, because none of them are going to become the mayors of Johannesburg,” he said.

“The Executive mayor of Johannesburg will be coming from Afrika Mayibuye Movement,” he added.

For the City of Tshwane he said General Prince Nkitsing Mokotedi is the mayoral candidate, for the City of Ekurhuleni he announced Themba “Skeem GP” Lukhele. For the troubled Emfuleni Local Municipality, Shivambu announced, Pastor Vincent Jones as a mayoral candidate.