“It’s a beautiful area, it’s an ocean area,” said Mantashe during his short visit to Lambert’s Bay on the eve of a key by-election on 12 October 2022. 

Mantashe was in Ward 5 (Lambert’s Bay) in the Cederberg municipal area on Friday 7 October as part of the ANC’s Letsema campaign. Mantashe conducted a walkabout in the area. The little town, known for its beaches and fishing community, is situated around 280km north of Cape Town. 

The visit also had  another purpose – this week, a hotly contested by-election takes place in the ward, brought on by the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) termination of membership of ward councillor Joseph Farmer, who supported a motion of no confidence in mayor Dr Ruben Richards from the Cederberg First Residents Association, a coalition partner of the DA. 

The by-election takes place on Wednesday 12 October. 

The area was peppered with DA and Patriotic Alliance (PA) posters, with a few posters in the name of the ANC ward candidate Beverly Schalk. During Mantashe’s visit, Schalk took him to visit residents. 

At the first home, the ANC contingency met George Johnson, a former fisherman who now sells arts and crafts. Johnson told Daily Maverick the rules and regulations around fishing; “…cause us to depend on the land”. He cannot afford fishing permits and has to sell crafts. But there’s another problem: he cannot afford the cost of renting a stand from the Cederberg municipality. “You always struggle with stands,” he said. 

During another home visit, Mantashe asked the crowd to sing Happy Birthday to pensioner Gert Johannes Beukes, who turned 81 on Friday. When Mantashe had shaken Beukes’ hand, notes of money were visible. Mantashe told journalists this was not a bribe, but a “birthday present”.

Minister of Mineral Resources, Gwede Mantashe visited Gert Beukes (81) and his wife Janetta (65) of Lambert’s Bay before the upcoming by-elections on 12 October 2022. (Photo: Brenton Geach)

Beukes told Daily Maverick he used to be a fisherman, but an accident in the 1970s left him as a machinist in fishing production factories until he reached retirement age. “It’s good to live here,” he said, standing alongside his wife Janetta (65) but both pointed to unemployment as an issue. Both depend on pension grants. “These days, you can’t do much with it,” said Beukes.  

Mantashe then stopped at the home of sisters Anna Jaap (76) and Magrieta Levies (71). The sisters sat quietly as Mantashe joked about their T-shirts. Both wore ANC T-shirts, one with an image of president Cyril Ramaphosa, the other with former president Nelson Mandela on it. “You are Mandela, you are Ramaphosa,” said Mantashe, trying to communicate with them. 

Minister of Mineral Resources, Gwede Mantashe visited Anna Jaap (76) and her sister Magrieta Levies (71) of Lambert’s Bay before the upcoming by-elections on 12 October 2022. (Photo: Brenton Geach)

Mantashe then left the sisters and went to an informal settlement in the area, where he interacted with residents. One resident, Yolanda Nikani (24) told Daily Maverick she moved from the Eastern Cape to Lambert’s Bay three years ago and described living in the town as fine. 

Throughout the visit, Daily Maverick spotted bakkies with PA logos, accompanied by people encouraging voters to polling stations on 12 October. At one point, three bakkies hung around with DA logos on them, playing music while Mantashe was in the area. 

After the walkabout Mantashe interacted with journalists. He said it had been his first visit to the “interesting” area. About the upcoming by-election he said, “If we work hard and we win back this ward from the DA, it will be a bonus.”

On the subject of coalitions, Mantashe told journalists: 

“I don’t want to predict what happens in Tshwane… Anyway, we are the biggest block in Jhb, we are the biggest block in Tshwane, we are the biggest block in Ekurhuleni.” 

This was a reference to the goings on in Gauteng, where potential governance changes can occur due to coalition ups and downs following the governance change in Johannesburg. 

Read in Daily Maverick: Prepare for a political roller coaster ride as parties jostle for positions in municipal coalitions.

Daily Maverick asked Mantashe about potential concerns he has as ANC chair with the ANC and its affiliates having lost to the DA in rural municipalities in the Western Cape in recent by-elections. 

 “There’s only one formula of winning by-elections,” he said. “That’s when your team talks to people… there’s no shortcuts and if you try to take any shortcuts, you don’t [win] by-elections… I’m quite encouraged to see the number of people actively involved, that gives us hope.” 

When asked for his observation about the area, Mantashe said: “It’s a beautiful area, it’s an ocean area – you don’t come here and not talk about fishermen.” 

Mantashe said he would invite Barbara Creecy, minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, to visit the area. 

“I went to visit Hondeklipbaai [in the Northern Cape] two weeks ago – same things are raised: what is the security of fishermen, what is their future, what will happen with all the discovery of oil and gas in the ocean? We must answer those questions.”  DM