Elections: more views from people on the street

17 April 2014 | Dumisani Dabadini News

In our on-going series of interviews with the public, GroundUp asks if people intend to vote, for which party, and why.

We found people who can’t wait to vote and know exactly who they will be voting for, and others who won’t vote and who have completely lost faith in our politicians.

Mfundo Ndzuzo from Gugulethu. I will definitely be voting this year because I want to make a difference in my country and want my voice to be heard. I think voting nowadays means that we have a choice of choosing which party we want to govern our country, it simply means that we can make our voices heard by voting. I will be voting for the DA as I believe in their policies and I believe that the DA appeals to everyone. If you look at how the Western Cape is being governed we are an example to many provinces that are not ran by the DA, look at City of Cape town, the administration there is in order. No other party appeals to me. They all just full of promises and just a bunch of corrupt liars especially the ANC.

Zimkhitha Ngubo, from Khayelitsha. I will be voting next month. Voting nowadays is no longer about voting for freedom like before, I think voting now means voting for change, others vote for being loyal to one party. I will be voting for the ANC. I believe in the party, yes now the party is not setting a good example in many things but we need to understand we’ve been oppressed for years and 20years to see things change is impossible compared to the years we’ve been oppressed. I fear history repeating itself if I vote for DA , which is likely to happen hence DA built toilets with no shelter in Makhaza that only showed the level of care DA has for the black nation. I strongly feel nothing new will come from other parties because they all are after money and power. I’ll rather stick to the party that fought for my freedom.

Luzuko Silolo from Fish Hoek. I will be voting.I am so excited because it will be my first time voting. Voting to me means I know and understand how things work ,in terms of service delivery to the communities by parties and all that come through voting for that particular party. I have seen a radical change from 1994 up to now, however I can see that the leading government is still lacking here and there. I will be voting for EFF because I have seen its mandate about the state owning mines, land re-owning and other things. It is focusing mainly on bringing wealth to those who deserve it, unlike the things other parties have promised.

Lindelwa Ditha from Khayelitsha. I will be voting in the upcoming elections. As a 18 year old, I am extremely excited to be able to cast my vote. It means a lot to me because it means that my voice as a born free can finally be heard and that in one way, even if it is small, I do have a say on who leads my country for the next five years. Maybe voting will bring about change, as they say “vote for change.” and this is what I want to see in each and every community, change in a positive direction, whether it will be now or later. At the moment I am undecided. I am really not sure for which party I will be voting for. I am undecided because of things like inequality (the president being able to build fire pools whereas some people do not even have access to tap water), the lack of employment opportunities , maladministration and corruption in the government. I am afraid that each and every party will do the same should they be in power, so it is hard to know who to trust and who not to. But I am not content with the current government. I would really appreciate it if parties could reach out to “their people” way before election time. They should also deliver on their promises. I am aware that the current leading party is doing their best, but that change has been slow and the amount of corruption outweighs the good they are doing. So what would convince me to vote for a certain party would be reliability, transparency and striving for equality, not just BEE type of equality that only benefits those who are on top, but equality for all.

Tiny Hlangane from Gugulethu. To be honest I don’t feel the hype over elections and I feel that there are not much options anymore. I feel like I’m forced to vote for ANC because of loyalty not because I believe in the party. I lost faith in the government and politics because most of these politicians are in it for themselves and they treating it as a job instead of having the passion for change and making citizens lives better and fight poverty. They are just people doing a job and they abuse their positions for personal gain. I would be voting for the sake of voting but I don’t believe my vote will be making a difference to the citizen, it will just make a difference to these politicians wealth.

Nomvuselelo Marman from Khayelitsha. I will not be voting this year. Voting means nothing to me because I see no difference, our people are still staying in shacks, they have no toilets and electricity To me all parties are the same the most common factor is corruption.

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