What young people make of upcoming elections and why some won’t be voting

By Ntombikayise Mahuma

As South Africa approaches the local government elections in November and political parties ramp up their election campaigns, young South Africans have one question: can the ballot box fix a broken system, or is the entire process of voting completely unnecessary?

For some young people, the disconnect between political promises and daily survival has bred scepticism. In Pimville, Thapie Teefu, 24, believes the whole system needs a change.

Thapie Teefu says politicians should have a bottom-up approach to governance. (Supplied)

“Politicians should have a bottom-up approach to governance, where the needs, concerns and perspectives of us ordinary citizens are the foundation of any policy,” she said.

Pointing to what she termed structural failures, she said there is a disconnect in priorities.

“We see AI being introduced in townships, yet there are no tools or education to navigate it, not to mention the ignored structural injustices like unemployment, horrible infrastructure and bad service delivery.

“Dust bins in Pimville are yet to be emptied. It’s been three weeks,” she said.

This has led to some thinking beyond the ballot, like Karabo Khomo, 27, who admitted to having lost faith in the government.

“I wouldn’t say I have much hope in government,” he said, adding local elections hold potential, but his mistrust of political parties is absolute.

While he notes the political party he plans to vote for has “done more real work on the ground”, he feels the leadership contradicts their manifesto.

Others, however, want change but haven’t taken the first step by registering for elections, like Dakalo Mukhwevo. The 22-year-old said he “missed the boat”.

He said he didn’t know about the recent registration drive and would have “definitely registered” and later voted had he been aware.

Soweto resident Dakalo Mukhwevo says he didn’t know about the recent registration drive and that he would have “definitely registered” and later voted had he been aware. — Soweto resident Dakalo Mukhwevo says he didn’t know about the recent registration drive and would have 'definitely registered' and later voted had he been aware. (Suppl)

While Mukhwevo claims it was lack of knowledge about the registration that led to him missing out, Nompumelelo Vanqa, 22, knew about the registration drive but chose not to register, saying she does not see anyone deserving her vote.

“Every party is at fault for something. It doesn’t feel like we have a reliable party to turn to,” she said.

“If we vote out the ANC, any other political party is still going to give us major issues, and when it’s time to vote, who do we vote for? If I don’t see anyone who’s fit enough, it’s all just going to go back to the same thing. It just feels pointless,” she said