ELECTIONS-LD-GAUTENG

JOHANNESBURG July 20 Sapa

Local elections on track in Gauteng: Mofokeng

By Jonathon Rees

Gauteng local government and housing MEC Dan Mofokeng on
Thursday said he was confident the province's demarcation disputes
would be resolved and local government elections would be held on
November 1 as schedulPresident Nelson Mandela's call this
week for elections go ahead where authorities were ready, he said,
adding that KwaZulu/Natal and Western Cape would not be allowed to
use Gauteng as an excuse to delay their polls.

Mofokeng urged his counterparts in these provinces, where
demarcation disputes threaten to delay the poll, to follow
Gauteng's example and resolve their differences.

"We are ready and capable of having elections on November 1,"
Mofokeng told a voter education workshop in Johannesburg, noting
that a delay would deal a serious blow to investor confidence in
the province.

He hoped to resolve disputes over Greater Johannesburg's
electoral boundaries through negotiation before August 3, when a
special electoral court is to make a binding decision on
demarcation.

In the event of the court having to decide, the Demarcation
Board would immediately after the ruling begin dividing Gauteng
into wards.

The Greater Johannesburg Transitional Metropolitan Council
would have between August 3 and 8 to prepare maps for submission to
the board.

A special meeting of the Gauteng executive committee would
ratify the board's demarcation on August 18, with the provincial
committee to vote on the matter the same day.

If the committee disagreed with the demarcation board, Mofokeng
said, it would show "they are not for progress in Gauteng".

On August 22, Gauteng premier Tokyo Sexwale would formally
proclaim the province's inner boundaries and electoral seats,
Mofokeng said.

In order to ensure the legitimacy of the local election,
Gauteng voters would then be given a second chance to inspect
voters' rolls in their wards.

Mofokeng warned Western Cape and KwaZulu/Natal that failure to
resolve their demarcation disputes could see national government
stepping in to ensure elections went ahead.

"Government can no longer leave the election in the hands of
provinces that are not willing to move."

Disagreements over demarcation in Gauteng revolve around
Greater Johannesburg, where the National Party and Democratic Party
accuse Mofokeng of gerrymandering boundaries in favour of the
African National Congress.

Mofokeng has stood firm on his proposal for four metropolitan
sub-structures in Johannesburg, which he claims will ensure
integration of communities and redistribution of resources.