WHILE people across Mzansi registered to vote on Saturday 18 September and Sunday 19 September, some citizens said they have lost hope.
Voters told Daily Sun their leaders had failed them and they felt demoralised.
Reinette Mmatladi (52) from Temba unit 13 in Tshwane said she kept voting but there was no development in the area.
“The parties we always vote for are not doing anything for us. We drink dirty water but they still want us to pay bills.
“Why do we have to pay bills when we drink kak water?” she asked.
Another resident Martha Maluleka (60) said she was registered to vote.
“We are voting but we are not getting what we want. Two years ago, they said we would be getting RDP houses but we are still waiting,” she said.
“What must we do? We are always voting but our educated kids are unemployed because there are no jobs.”
Another resident Samuel Kekana agreed that very little had changed in their area.
“There are broken pipes that aren’t getting fixed. We have been calling the municipality to come and attend to the problem, but no one comes,” he said.
Residents of Lusaka in Mamelodi East, Tshwane, said they were registering to vote for a party that would deliver services. Life Mashiloane (42) said: “We want our electricity to be fixed in ward 10. We have weak transformers and they don’t withstand wind and rain.”
He said residents of Alaska squatter camp needed to be relocated to a better place.
“We have been waiting for relocation since 2007. We are blaming the DA and ANC for failing us. They are always giving us empty promises,” he said.
Nditsheni Mudimeli (38) said residents desperately needed services and jobs.
Given Chauke (32) said: “In Lusaka, we need a community hall which will help the youth.”
James Mothupi (51) said the government had failed them.
“Our dreams are gone. Our children are using drugs and we need the police to arrest criminals.”
Meanwhile in Cape Town, the ANC in ward 88 of Kosovo in Samora Machel was rocked by infighting.
On Saturday, the party had two tables at the same station.
Members were divided between current councillor Vuyolwethu Mqadi and Zukisani Sophazi, who stood against her to become candidate councillor.
Sophazi’s supporters said she won the election, but Mqadi disputed the result and the party had not come to a decision on the issue yet.
Mqadi’s supporters said she only had a few months as councillor because she won a by-election after the previous councillor died.
Babalwa Nojaholo said: “She was in office for eight months but already the ANC wants her out.
“They are giving us a candidate we don’t even know.”
ANC volunteer Chumisa Thompson accused Mqadi’s supporters of distributing Patriotic Alliance T-shirts to ANC members.
ANC district co-ordinator Lonwabo Jako said the problem was caused by delays in the party leadership providing feedback on disputes.
“The other problem is although the dispute has not been resolved, there are posters that suggest Sophazi is the candidate, which has caused a commotion,” he said.
ANC’s head of communications in the Western Cape Sifiso Mtshweni said the issue of two tables is unfortunate but insisted that for now what matters is to have as many people registered to vote. He said the issue of councillor candidates will be settled by tomorrow as the ANC would submit its list of councillor candidates to the IEC. Mtshweni said members from the ward in question had enough opportunity to express their choices.
New political party South Africa My Home Residents Association (SAHRA) is ready for the local government elections.
The party, which was formed after the Better Residents Association was disbanded, said it aimed to take control of Bushbuckridge Municipality in Mpumalanga away from the ANC.
The party’s manifesto was launched at the Amass Centre for the Disabled in Acornhoek, Mpumalanga, on Saturday 18 September.
Party spokesman Advise Lebjane said: “Today, we are here to launch SAHRA, a powerful new political party so the whole of Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga and Mzansi can know about it.
“We want to bring change immediately when we take this municipality away from the ruling party. We want to ensure people get quality services.”
He said the party already had over 20 000 members and would be contesting 38 wards.
Meanwhile, Mpumalanga deputy DA leader Trudie Grove-Morgan also assured voters that her party would win Bushbuckridge.
She visited Huntington, outside Mkhuhlu, as part of the party’s roadshow. She said the DA was spreading a message of hope to residents.
“We will win it from the ANC, there;s not doubt of that, as long as they don’t steal votes as they usually do,” she said.
ANC Ehlanzeni district co-ordinator Folus Sibuyi said he could not comment as the party had not yet launched its election manifesto
