After three main political parties launched their manifestos for next month’s local government elections, Sowetan hit the streets to speak to voters about some of the promises made by the DA, EFF and the ANC.
The ANC promised to place traders’ stalls on busy streets and nodes, protect informal traders
Obed Shitlhangu, 51, who sells vegetables near Pan-Africa shopping centre in Alexandra north of Johannesburg, said every time there were elections political parties made their promises and they listened to them.
“After the elections, those promises should be fulfilled. We suffer a lot here from police and municipal officials who come here sometimes and remove us or take our stock... We will listen to the ANC or any political party on what it says and see if they implement their plans after the elections,” he said.
Another trader, Peter Mootane, 54, said: “I don’t want to hear anything about politics. I don’t have a proper place to sell. I have been selling here since 1994. These parties have not helped me all along. Why should I expect them to help me now?”
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The ANC further promised to develop a night-time economy to encourage retailers to remain open late
Tshidi Mokoena, 44, owner of Emapapeni Food Court – a restaurant and events place in Orlando East, Soweto, said this meant more hours to generate more money.
“The disappointing part is that you know in most cases our government likes to make promises and not deliver. I think that they are saying that because they want us to vote for them in the elections. Voting for me is not an option because a lot of promises are made and the ANC does not deliver,” she said. “Just last year, funds were set aside to help small businesses that were struggling financially because of the Covid-19 pandemic but most small businesses did not get those funds.”
Another business owner, Monwabisi Bendile, 45, of Skype Lounge in Orlando East, Soweto, said politicians had been making promises for a long time.
“However the night-time economy plan will impact my business positively because there will be employment for more people.”
The EFF has promised that if elected it would insource security guards in municipalities – a vow it shares with the ANC, which also committed to ending the use of labour brokers at municipal level
A security guard who asked to be referred to only as Sharon, 35, working for the City of Johannesburg revenue customer service centre in Soweto, said she would be happy if this happened.
“I believe in the EFF. Their leader [Julius] Malema is a fighter, strong and very stubborn. He sticks to his word. I can’t compare him with the ANC. The ANC is corrupt and manipulative. We have been giving them many chances and they have disappointed us.”
Another guard, Cynthia, 36, who works at the Orlando magistrate’s court in Soweto, however, said the EFF promises were not new.
“If you remember very well from the beginning, Malema said we will be insourced. But nothing has happened. But we will see what will happen now,” she said.
The EFF has promised to prioritise people from indigent households for municipal bursaries and build RDP houses on land in Sandton.
Thapelo Monametsi, 23, of Dobsonville, Soweto who dropped out of college due to lack of funds, said the bursary would help but he did not believe building RDP houses in Sandton would work.
“It won’t succeed. Where will the EFF get the money to buy land in Sandton?”
The DA on the other hand has promised to make six pilot municipalities in the Western Cape load-shedding proof
Some Soweto residents who have been hard hit by blackouts in recent years due to the Eskom system overload caused by illegal connections were, however, sceptical that this would happen to them.
Asanda Ngungunyana from Orlando East, Soweto, said he did not believe they would put an end to load-shedding. “It is not only the ANC that is failing us. All these political parties are the same. We have been struggling with electricity for a long time and the DA never came to our area to assist us,” he said.
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