Please check your email and enter your one time pin below:   Open in Gmail Sorry there was an error loading the audio The setting: Hlohlowane is a township just north of the town of Clocolan. Clocolan is close to the Lesotho border and near the towns of Ficksburg and Marquard. The area is known for its cherry, asparagus and maize farms. The seat of Setsoto is Ficksburg. Other towns in the municipality include Senekal.advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove ads the Setsoto Service Delivery Forum (SSDF) shocked the ANC in a traditional ANC seat by pipping the ANC by nine votes The SSDF bested the ANC by 26 votes on the proportional representation (PR) ballot The ANC won two of the three voting districts but the margins were very close The SSDF won the ward by building a 38-vote buffer at the Mpokoane Creche voting district The ANC won 17 out of the 33 seats to retain control of Setsoto The SSDF became the official opposition with eight seats The EFF won three seats while the DA and Freedom Front Plus (FF+) garnered two seats each The African Transformation Movement (ATM) gained a single seat The ANC was the most popular party in Ward 8, winning 62% of the provincial ballot vote. The EFF came second with 24% of the vote and the DA came third with 11% of the vote. SSDF did not contest the provincial elections, but they did endorse Action SA. Action SA finished well off the pace on the provincial ballot. advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove ads The SSDF and ANC were joined on the ballot by the EFF Ace Magashule’s African Congress for Transformation (ACT) the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the Congress of the People (Cope) The EFF threw the 2021 and recent 2024 election script out of the window with an emphatic win in this by-election It more than doubled its percentage share of the vote when one considers the recent provincial ballot returns in the ward The ANC’s percentage vote share almost declined by half when compared with the provincial ballot result here on 29 May It lost more than 75% of its support in this ward The SSDF has its work cut out to remain a force in Setsoto politics after the 2026 local government elections The new 33 seat council composition is ANC 17 SSDF 7 (8) EFF 4 (3) DA 2 FF+ 2 ATM 1 The EFF had a tough national and provincial election The party lost seats and went from being the third-largest party to the fourth-largest party It will hope that results like this will lead to a change of momentum The party will celebrate this major upset and will use Clocolan as a blueprint for further by-election success between now and 2026 var d=document,w="https://tally.so/widgets/embed.js",v=function(){"undefined"!=typeof Tally?Tally.loadEmbeds():d.querySelectorAll("iframe[data-tally-src]:not([src])").forEach((function(e){e.src=e.dataset.tallySrc}))};if("undefined"!=typeof Tally)v();else if(d.querySelector('script[src="'+w+'"]')==null){var s=d.createElement("script");s.src=w,s.onload=v,s.onerror=v,d.body.appendChild(s);} It would be nice to see the GNU truly enable the legal structures to crush the EFF by throwing its leaders into jail for a long time. That will spell the end of that party because it’s a typical fascist/dictatorial structure led by one and a half men. With all due respect to Wayne who is a brilliant election analyst, and even better person, not sure why a by election in a ward with less than 2200 votes makes headline news… Agreed. More free airtime for the EFF, do they really deserve it? This is a nothing burger. Let’s hear more about the VBS story and the lack of litigation from our government. Two! Such HUGE gains! Misleading headline! I never knew there were still people living in Clocolan. You need an overland Unimog just to get through the R26 potholes. Article doesn’t give any insight into what caused voters to vote differently. Says the EFF has a BLUEprint (written in red ink?) but doesn’t tell us what it is. Maybe the EFF promised the voters a double KFC helping, hence those “huge” gains. I would wager that it’s simply a strategic anti-ANC vote that went to the party that had the best chance to win it. At other times, in other places, it has been the DA that was the recipient of other such strategic votes designed to punish the ANC. But holding on to it, now that’s the trick. ' + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.webview_notification_text + ' " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_title + " " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_text + " The consequences of this water crisis are dire for the community Their daily lives are significantly impacted as they struggle to access a basic necessity resorting to expensive alternatives and relying on intermittent water tankers This situation not only compromises their health and well-being but also hampers economic growth and development in the area Even local businesses are forced to rely on water tankers highlighting the severity of the situation adjacent to the overflowing dam is a recently refurbished water treatment plant This contradiction demonstrates the mismanagement and lack of accountability within the ANC-led municipality Although the town dams are filled to capacity the essential resource of water is mysteriously absent from the taps The pertinent question that arises is who benefits from the reliance on water tankers while the necessary infrastructure exists to provide a consistent water supply to the community The DA will raise this crucial question during the next council sessions to demand answers and transparency We will call for a thorough investigation into the reasons behind this disparity While the DA diligently holds those in power accountable it is equally vital for the community to recognise their role in effecting change By voting for a party that prioritises service delivery the residents of Setsoto will have an opportunity to break free from the grip of the ANC in the upcoming 2024 elections registered non profit organisation in South AfricaReg No: 011-895 NPO Before the minister of agriculture Thoko Didiza officially signs off on the Agricultural and Agro-processing Master Plan agricultural role players share their last thoughts on the much-anticipated plan Even though Mzansi saw a general decrease in crime last year as a result of the multiple Covid-19-related lockdowns Afriforum Research recorded 63 farm murders and 382 confirmed farm attacks for 2020. According to Free State Agriculture (FSA), this province recorded the most farm attacks out of all the provinces logging an increase of 53,85% The Free State also had an increase of 14,1% in murder cases and 39,2% in attempted murder incidents during the same period The recent murder and attempted murder figures are the highest in a five-year period According to FSA the increase is proof that government does not know how to properly equip the police with the necessary skills to combat the crime effectively High crime areas with regard to farm attacks and farm murders are smallholdings in Bloemfontein and in areas such as: ALSO READ: ‘I didn’t fight for my life for 3 hours to just die later’ said that the crime in the province is unacceptable “During the Covid-19 lockdowns with movement of restrained farmers we experienced how government was serious about applying regulations “We refuse to accept that the crime wave that terrorises communities should simply be accepted that way The re-implementation of the rural safeguarding strategy with the same seriousness and political willpower is simple and can be done,” she said Buys reported that although the armed robbery figure dropped by 12.5% home and business robberies increased by 2.7 and 6.8% recently reproduced by the minister of police in its quarterly release FSA also revealed that the Free State reported the third highest rate of stock theft offences The minister pointed out that 74,947 pieces of livestock were stolen in the three-month period Apart from the 36 towns that indicated an increase of 10% and more in stock theft there are still 25 towns that reported the same or more stock theft cases in a nine-month period from 1 April to 31 December 2020 than occurred in the previous financial year the towns should receive serious priority and attention in terms of increased crime prevention actions and operations chairperson of FSA’s rural safety committee believes the implementation of the revised rural safeguarding strategy is now crucial to establish this strategy with accompanying safety plans increased policing actions and the establishing of task teams in rural areas to ensure improved safety in communities ALSO READ: Rural violence: Most rapists walk free This week's agricultural events include Food For Mzansi's Nampo Bothaville lunchtime conversations Deloitte's conversation with agricultural experts With 21 global awards in the first six years of its existence Food For Mzansi is much more than an agriculture publication unashamedly saluting the unsung heroes of South African agriculture We believe in the power of agriculture to promote nation building and social cohesion by telling stories that are often overlooked by broader society Contact usOffice: +27 21 879 1824News: info@foodformzansi.co.zaAdvertising: sales@foodformzansi.co.za