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ANC mobilises via Mxit

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 22 May 2013
A depiction of what the ANC Western Cape Mxit application will look like.
A depiction of what the ANC Western Cape Mxit application will look like.

The ANC in the Western Cape has launched an app on social platform Mxit, in an effort to attract voters in the province.

According to a statement released by the party yesterday, the MyANCWC application "heralds a new era in social media and technology" to voters and mobilise them to vote.

ANC Western Cape chairman Marius Fransman says the party aims to focus on the youth and, therefore, chose a platform used mainly by the youth to be able to engage with them directly. The application allows users to learn more about the ANC, get more information about voting and how to register, and check whether they are registered.

Users can also engage with the ANC on issues that concern them. According to Fransman, the site will be monitored so that issues raised are followed up by ANC representatives.

Fransman notes that because Mxit is used on all phones and not only smartphones, it is accessible to a wider audience.

"While nothing can replace door-to-door work and meeting voters face-to-face, this helps us to modernise the organising ability of the oldest liberation movement on the continent. Young people want to be engaged with - Mxit does that in an affordable way for all."

Sarah Rice, VP of communications at Mxit, says the platform has one million monthly active users in the Western Cape. "This scale, combined with our core audience of 18-to 25-year-olds and the fact our social network can be accessed by over 3 000 different phones, makes Mxit the right platform to use to engage and communicate with the young voting community."

According to ANC spokesperson Phillip Dexter, this is the first time the ANC has launched an application of this sort. He was unable to say whether similar applications will be offered in other provinces in the future.

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