Following an intense campaign in the community over the past year, the ANC has increased its voter support in Bo-Kaap. According to the latest election results on Thursday, the ANC attained 731 votes in the voting district, with the DA significantly dropping to 431. Al Jamaah, a party that emerged as an alternative for disillusioned Muslim voters, attained 265 votes.
On the provincial ballot, the DA saw a drop to 456 with the ANC increasing their margin to 641. Al Jamaah achieved 293 votes. This means the ANC has doubled its votes since the 2014 elections.
The ANC’s showing is a far cry from the 2014 national elections, in which the ANC won 324 votes and the DA 1 062. ANC provincial secretary Faiez Jacobs said they were elated with the result as historically the ANC has not done well in Bo-Kaap.
“Our votes usually were very low, probably less than 15%. Now at least 66 % of Bo-Kaap residents voted for the ANC. It shows that when we work with community organisations, we can regain their trust. It’s a model that can work with any community,” he told VOC news.
Bo-Kaap had become the ground for a political battle between the ANC and the DA on a range of issues such as gentrification, housing, municipal issues and the protection of heritage. Following months of campaigning by residents for the area’s heritage to be preserved, last week Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa announced that 19 historical sites would be granted national heritage status. This essentially means that most of Bo-Kaap is protected by the National Heritage Resources Act (25/1999).
According to Jacobs, the growth of the ANC’s support in Bo-Kaap is a significant achievement for the party who had worked tirelessly in the community for the past year to escalate their struggles to the national level.
“It shows the partnerships that communities can achieve with national government. With a bit of community organisation where like-minded people come together, the government can make a change,” he said.
“The fact that the community turned around and gave us a vote of confidence is huge. We are very proud of Bo-Kaap.”
Fouwzia Achmat from the Bo-Kaap Civic and Ratepayers Association said residents were not swayed by last week’s decision to grant the area national heritage status – but rather the work the ANC has been doing on the ground for the past two years.
“Out vote is to say thank you to the national government, not because they came on the eve of the election, but because there have been many ministers that visited here for the past two years and listened to our struggles. The fact that we could relate this to our heritage is very important,” she said.
Achmat said the challenge now is for the community to continue to use this strategic partnership with the ANC to tackle the area’s other socio-economic problems.
“People must understand that they cannot sit on their laurels. We have a lot of work to do,” she said.
“The ANC should see this as a pilot project for other communities. They [ANC] need to go back into those communities, where they got the votes. It shows those communities that voted for them are willing to work with them.”
Shafwaan Laubsher from the Bo-Kaap Collective, a group of young activists, said the ANC’s increased support shows that if a government gives the people what they need, they will reap the benefits.
“For years the people of Bo-Kaap has been ignored by the DA-led provincial government, and this contributed to the power shift. Residents were tired of being used and change was inevitable. This change can only bode well for the future of Bo-Kaap,” he said.
The process to designate 19 historical places in Bo-Kaap as national heritage sites are now in phase one and will be a lengthy process. With the news announced on the eve of Ramadan, the community has not had time to determine a way forward. A public meeting is expected to be held on Sunday.
In the meantime, the community will gather for its first street iftaar for this Ramadan in Wale Street on Friday 10 May. This year’s iftaar has been aptly themed “Giving Thanks”. The event will kick off at 5pm with recitals and speeches by Minister of Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa and Ebrahim Rasool.
The event is open to the public. Bring along a salaah mat, food for iftaar and an extra jacket.  VOC