Political parties our out in full force as this is the last campaigning weekend before the local government elections take place.

The country’s electoral laws prevent campaigning 48 hours before the day of the polls.

Parties like the ANC and DA are now using this time to ramp up support by either highlighting the failures of the existing council, or to praise their respective track records.

Cape Town is a hotly contested Metro, with the ANC vying to regain lost ground, while the DA seeks to reassert its dominance.

However, parties like the Cape Coloured Congress, and Good, are using these parties’ respective failures and anti-poor policies to gain a foothold in local government.

The issue of water consumption and water tariffs has been a sore topic for thousands of residents in the Cape Metro, who have been forced to pay high prices for limited access to this much needed resource.

A political debate hosted by Radio 786 at City Council yesterday, delved into this issue.

The DA’s Deputy Chair of the Cape Metro, Zaahid Badroodien had sought to defend the City Council’s handling of the region’s water crisis.

He argued that the tariffs are necessary to reduce public water consumption, and improve the region’s reserves.  

[Header image: Radio 786]