Mbeki succession battle stalls development

She explained that the South African ruling party, the ANC is currently divided into two camps supporting President Thabo Mbeki and his former deputy Jacob Zuma. "The Premier here (Eastern Cape) is aligned to factionalism and this is creating enormous damage to us," she said. There are people who support Mbeki's ambitions to stand for a third term while there is stiff opposition from the other camp.

Oppelt said that the 7.04 million residents of Eastern Cape are impoverished and survive on hand-outs because employment opportunities are limited.  This has resulted in university graduates leaving the province to join big employers in economically vibrant places such as Johannesburg and Cape Town.  Some people in the area, she said depend on selling rotten food from landfills.