EFF dominates Limpopo poles
If the amount of posters and banners in and around Polokwane are anything to go by, the EFF has won the branding wars as poll campaigning hots up.
|||Polokwane - If the amount of posters and banners in and around Polokwane in Limpopo are anything to go by, the EFF has won the branding wars as election campaigning hots up.
The party’s posters hang on bridges along the N1 highway towards the provincial capital, and billboards bearing the smiling visage of EFF leader Julius Malema greet motorists on main roads, such as Grobler leading in and out of Polokwane.
Even poles around some villages in the Capricorn Municipality bear the ubiquitous red placards, some spreading the word about the party’s upcoming rally on July 31st, while others make promises about much needed services such as water, if residents voted EFF.
Although the flags of the ANC, which has traditionally had a stranglehold over the province, line busy streets such as Landros Mare, the yellow and green is overpowered by EFF red elsewhere in town.
There’s also spots of blue visible on some poles, with the DA and ACDP sharing the spotlight.
However, passionate EFF supporters such as 53 year old Raisibe Ramogale who lives in Lebowakgomo - where Malema addressed residents on Wednesday - said despite what the images in the streets suggested, the party had yet to win over the hearts of ANC loyalists in the province.
“We keep saying to people, support this child of Limpopo, but some people just disagree with him even when he is making a lot of sense,” she said.
Meanwhile, a vocal ANC supporter, 30-year-old Makosa Rammutla, praised the ANC for her RDP house, saying in Moetagare, a village on the outskirts of Polokwane, they could only count EFF members in one hand.
She admitted the party had gone to great lengths to market itself to her community, but even the campaigners understood they were not interested.
“I am very proud of the ANC, they even give us food parcels and [we] believe everything we get here is from the ANC government,” she said.
theto.mahlakoana@inl.co.za
Election Bureau