Phuti Mosomane and Tlholohelo Mosala
Voting kicked off without reported incidents at Sekampaneng Voting Centre in Hammanskraal in the City of Tshwane on Wednesday, an area in which a year ago, more than 30 people died from a deadly cholera outbreak caused by contaminated water .
Inside Politics spoke to a handful of residents and each one of them said a lack of clean water is the biggest problem next to a growing unemployment rate among the community.
A long queue could be seen from outside voting stations as mainly senior citizens woke up in the morning to cast their votes in South Africa’s historic election. Over 2000 voters are registered to vote here with many senior citizens and the youth saying that they wanted to vote for a better future.
An elderly Steven Mohlake, who got up in the early hours of the morning to get to the voting station said he was voting in order to pave the way for his children to have a better future.
Mohlake has hope that the next government that will come after the elections will be able to ensure that the community gets clean water.
“I have children who are not working and I hope my vote today will assist in creating employment for the youth. Another matter that is extremely urgent is the provision of clean drinkable water- we still do not have water.
“President Cyril Ramaphosa was here with Tshwane Mayor to make a commitment to deliver water but still there is nothing,” Mohlake said, adding that government processes will take time.
A street vendor Tshepiso Mkhonza said he came to the voting station to cast his ballot because he believed the ANC must be voted back into office to complete the task of delivering service to the community.
Mkhonza, who complained about struggling to survive with the R370 Social Relief of Distress grant, said he would not punish the ANC as a party because of individuals who are corrupt.
“I am going to vote ANC even though there are problems here in Sekampaneng- we do not have clean water, and no electricity yet we are going to support the ANC and we love it,” he said.
A student at Sefako Makgatho Health Science University (SMU) Keotshepile Maluleka urged young people to vote in large numbers in order to remove the ANC by “all means necessary” because she is unable to drink water at home instead she buys from retailers.
“I am a student at university and it’s my first time voting. We want to vote the ANC out at all costs – it doesn’t matter which party comes in. The ANC has been in power since the first democratic elections and have not delivered on the promises. Water is green here and we cannot drink it,” Maluleka said.
Another resident Thuto Mashabe said he was voting for a change, and urged both young and old to go vote.
“My vote is confidential. We are voting in order to have change because politicians are playing mind games, and there are no jobs. We have not had loadshedding in the last few months because of elections, he said.
At Masakhane Primary School voting station, the largest in the area with 3136 eligible voters, processes went smoothly with people patiently joining queues.
A local ANC Administrator Mpho Tshabalala who was outside the station said the party was pleased with voter turnout but also noted that there was no water at the station.
INSIDE POLITICS
