S. African president calls for unity among ruling party

South African President Jacob Zuma on Saturday called for unity among the ruling African National Party (ANC) as the party is geared up for the local elections.

"All of us as volunteers of the ANC must honour our fallen comrades by marching together in unity. We must unite as we mobilise our communities to renew their contract with the ANC at the polling stations," Zuma said.

Zuma was speaking at a funeral in Vosloorus, outside Johannesburg in honour of nine ANC members who died in a traffic accident last week.

The ANC members were killed last Sunday when the bus they were travelling in overturned between Winburg and Ventersburg in Free State Province.

They returning home to Ekurhuleni in Gauteng Province after attending the launch of the ANC's local election manifesto in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape Province.

Zuma said the ANC members "lost their lives while on duty for this movement".

"The ANC is kept alive by its members who dedicate themselves to serving the people that entrust it with their votes," the president said.

"We are now called upon to return to the homes of our people to remind them of the work that we have done. We must proudly tell the story of the good strides that the ANC government has made," he said.

The elections, scheduled for August 3, come as the ANC is facing a series of challenges, including the Nkandla scandal in which Zuma is accused of abusing public funds in security upgrades at his private home, and the "state capture" by the Indian Gupta family which allegedly keeps close ties with Zuma and the ANC.

Municipal elections are held every five years. Voters will elect the members of the district, metropolitan and local municipal councils, who, in turn, will elect the mayors of the municipalities to office.

The ANC is facing the most fierce competition from the opposition parties since the end of apartheid in 1994.

Opposition political parties, particularly the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), have vowed to take over Johannesburg, Pretoria and Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality from the ANC. Enditem