Diepsloot residents dodge sewage puddles on way to vote

Thousands of people made their way through pollution and sewer leaks to Diepsloot Combined School to cast their votes on Wednesday morning.

In their coats, beanies, gloves and blankets, many huddled around fires lit by vendors outside the school selling food, vetkoek, tea and coffee to those who would be making their mark on ballot papers.

Seated under gazebos, political parties set up tables outside the school gate to encourage people to join and vote for their parties.

The elderly and injured waited by the gate with many saying they had arrived between 3am and 5am; however, frustration and tempers flared when the voting station did not open on time.

A vehicle escorted by the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) arrived at about 7.20am with ballot boxes, 20 minutes after the voting station was meant to open.

Due to delays in delivering stationery and the voters' roll, the gates finally opened at 7.40am with the elderly, disabled and injured being prioritised.

Resident Welile Khusi, who has been living in Diepsloot since 1998, arrived at 3am to cast his vote. Carrying a walking stick, he said it was to protect himself from the criminals in the area as he had left home in the dark.

Having lived in the area for 26 years, he said the only change he had seen in his community was the construction of RDP houses.

“We can’t live in a place where there is no employment; people are struggling and people are corrupt and we watch them with our eyes open. Also, this thing of living with people who are in the country without the required documents. They don’t have fingerprints and no one knows them.

“People get killed in Diepsloot and no one knows who did it. If that is solved, perhaps crime will be better. We are not saying people shouldn’t come into the country because we also travel to other countries, but they should be approved first to get into the country,” he said.

Khusi walked out looking proud after casting his vote, hoping it would help oust the governing party.

“I managed to cast my vote but I want the ANC out and I don’t know what else to do. I hope my vote gets them out,” he said.

For the youth, unemployment was of concern. Lebogang Marokane, who worked at the voting station as a Red Cross first aider, said she hoped the new government would create jobs.

She was pleased that the governing party had provided skills development programmes in Diepsloot, such as a computer lab for computer courses. Marokane, however, enrolled in the free first-aid course offered by the Red Cross.

“I am here to assist the elderly, those who are injured and whoever might need CPR. I just want our government to create jobs. We are not working and it’s no longer fun. Even the crime in Diepsloot is high. People are getting killed regularly. The government is trying, though. The good thing they did is the many educational development programmes. I think a lot of the youth can take that opportunity,” she said.

First-time voter Kgomotso Maranda jumped with joy when she finally cast her first vote. Maranda is a member of the ANC Youth League and said the governing party gave her a roof over her head, though she hopes to find employment.

“I feel bad when people criticise the ANC because some of them are gaining a lot of things from it. Some of them have RDP houses, Panyaza Lesufi hired them. Some of them are working under the ANC but now they are not happy and we don’t know why. I am voting for ANC because I am getting Nsfas from the ANC, my mom has an RDP house because of the ANC and I am a student because of the ANC. I applied for Nsfas and I am going to study,” she said.

Mpho Kekae, who voted at the Diepsloot Assemblies of God voting station, said she doubted her vote would make a difference. She woke up to find no water in the JoJo tank used in parts of extension 3.

“I am voting but I know nothing is going to change. This government irritates me because you vote for people and after voting for them, we fill up their pockets and they don’t care about us. We don’t have water in our water tanks. The government must build us houses, and corruption is too much.

“I don’t have any issues with foreign nationals. They are not a problem but people view things differently,” she said,

ANC ward 113 councillor Abraham Mabuke said about 10,000 voters were registered to vote at the Diepsloot Combined School.

He was concerned about a large influx of voters in the afternoon as the school is the largest voting station in the area.

“It’s all systems go ... The people are many. I am happy they are responding very well but I am afraid we might have a crisis in the evening … we are expecting big pressure,” he said.

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