ActionSA Ends 20-Year ANC Hold on Tembisa Ward 6
ActionSA won ward 6 in Tembisa, defeating the African National Congress after a campaign focused on service delivery and unemployment.
The political party ActionSA ended a 20-year hold by the African National Congress on ward 6 in Tembisa, Ekurhuleni, during recent local government elections. ActionSA secured 38.84% of the vote with 4,587 ballots, finishing 6.2 percentage points ahead of the ANC. The ward, which includes Isiziba, Endulwini, Ibazelo, Isithame, Igqagqa, and Lidinga, was previously an ANC stronghold that had won 64.3% of the vote in 2021.
Xolani Khumalo, the ActionSA Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate, was elected as the new councillor. Party officials attributed the victory to eight months of community engagement targeting substance abuse, unemployment, and service delivery. Fihliwe Nkohlisa, the ActionSA ward 6 branch secretary, noted the party grew from very few members in March to more than 700 by the election.
Residents expressed hope that the new leadership will resolve recurring water and electricity outages, crime, and a lack of local jobs. Nkohlisa stated that the previous administration did not seem to take these issues to heart, but the new leadership is ready to effect change.
