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The Congress of South African Trade Unions congratulates all mayoral candidates for the country’s metropolitan cities that have been announced by the African National Congress ,to represent the movement in the upcoming local 2016 government elections.  The federation acknowledges the painstaking process that resulted in the movement coming up with what it considers to be the best qualified and most skilled of its cadres as mayoral candidates, during the upcoming elections. We call on workers and communities to rally behind the announced mayoral candidates and give them all the necessary backing and support, during the campaign and also hold them accountable throughout the next five years.

COSATU wants to remind the mayoral candidates that it’s not about them but it is about the people and the services they want and deserve.  They must dedicate themselves and remember that these elections will determine the content, pace and direction of transformation of our communities. We expect them to be accessible and accountable to the people they serve through regular report back and feedback meetings in communities.

COSATU expects these mayoral candidates to be driven by the commitments made by the ANC Manifesto , like ensuring that municipal services remain the core function of municipalities. We will support them because we expect them to discourage municipalities from outsourcing the basic services they are able to render themselves. They must work to build the capacity of their respective municipalities with a view to reducing outsourcing of municipal services.

They must ensure that they promote local procurement of goods and services to increase local production of goods and also promote Youth Employment .The federation will fight and campaign for their election so that they can intensify the fight against fraud and corruption in local government. They must do this by mobilising communities to play an active role in fighting fraud and corruption.

We expect them to build and develop an activist local government that will ensure that clinics are built, maintained and equipped appropriately to provide affordable quality health services and to be ready for the implementation of NHI.

COSATU is calling for calm and an end to the ongoing political killings and violence that is taking place throughout the country. We reject the sense of entitlement that is behind these political killings. No one deserves to be on the list of councillors and no one should be killed because his/her name is on a councillor lists. The federation calls for cooler heads to prevail and urges all members of the ANC to rally behind all those on the lists and campaign for an overwhelming ANC victory.

We call on law enforcement agencies to work hard to stop the anarchy by arresting the perpetrators of violence. The ANC leadership needs to intervene and work with communities to identify the criminals that are vandalising properties and assassinating other people.

Issued by COSATU