It was quiet at Mary Waters Secondary School in Vergenoeg, one of the two voter registration stations for Makana's Ward 3, when Grocott's Mail arrived there on Sunday.
It was quiet at Mary Waters Secondary School in Vergenoeg, one of the two voter registration stations for Makana's Ward 3, when Grocott's Mail arrived there on Sunday.
There was not a resident in sight – only the IEC staff, waiting in a classroom to register potential voters. "We have registered four people, and another 14 came to check their registration status," said an official.
At BB Zondani Hall in Fingo Village, one of Ward 10's two voting stations, the turnout was equally poor. Thandiswa Ntsheyiya, who came to register, said she wanted to vote because she wanted to see change in her community. “I want to see service delivery. In my area, we are still using the bucket system, and I hope that by voting these issues will be resolved.
"If I don't vote, I'll be saying that things are fine the way they are,” said Ntsheyiya, who lives in Fingo Village.
Meanwhile, at Ward 10's other voting station, Tantyi Hall, the registration was slow, but officials expected a big turnout on Sunday afternoon. Ncumisa Boyce, 24, of Tantyi Location, registered for the first time. “I have never participated in voting, because I've had no ID. I only got my ID last year, and I want to vote this year,” she said.
Thembalethu Komsana and his wife, Lime Komsana, both registered for the first time at Tantyi Hall on Sunday afternoon. They expect the municipality to improve its service delivery. “I can see the municipality is doing its best to provide for the people. Today there are RDP houses, and even squatter camps are being electrified,” said Lime.
Her husband, meanwhile, said he had never been interested in voting because of fighting among politicians, which led to delays in service delivery – but he was happy to register for the coming elections. “I can see things are happening now,” said Komsana.
According to the IEC website, all South African citizens over the age of 18 who are registered will be allowed to vote. On election day you can only vote at the voting station in the voting district where you registered on the voters roll and you must have a bar-coded ID.
