‘I know who I vote for will have a big impact on my life’

Vincent Mahlangu’s struggles cut deeper than most people in his community.

The wheelchair bound Chiawelo resident’s struggles with constant electricity outages have made his life twice as hard as his electric wheelchair is depended on power. Mahlangu rolled into Hitekani Primary School to cast his vote.

“I know that who I vote for will have a major impact on my life".

“We didn’t have electricity for the better part of last year. I couldn’t move around and my family has to carry me around,” said Mahlangu.

He said he was disappointed with the outgoing administration for its failure to address their concerns and challenges.

“We have more issues than we have anything else. When we did not have electricity, wehad to count on the help of theDA, which was not running this ward, to help us and they did. They intervened and we got electricity,” said Mahlangu.

President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to make his mark at the same voting station.

Earlier in the day, Anna Makujwa also cast her vote.

The elderly woman said she respected the right to vote because it is a privilege she did not have in her younger years.

“I want the government to fix social ills. Our children are on drugs and they do not work. I hope that my vote will help and that the government can alleviate the issues we have,” said Makujwa.

While people voted to change their living conditions, others simply cast an X on the ballot paper merely for the experience.

Lerato Tlhabye, 20, of Protea Glen, also in Soweto, said she did not understand the dynamics involved in service delivery, but felt the consequences.

“We only have electricity outages when we have loadshedding. We have running water and we live far better than other communities. But I voted today because this was my first time and I wanted to make a positive contribution to my community,” said Tlhabye.

She cast her vote at Faranani Primary School – the biggest voting station in Soweto with 5,000 registered voters.

“People can’t always complain without exercising their right to vote. That’s what we need to do as communities,” said Tlhabye.

In some parts of Soweto, Monday’s elections werepreceded by mildly violent protests that broke out in Dlamini and Orlando.

Secelo Ngwenya, a resident in Dlamini, said his area was plagued by issues that appear to be getting worse despite their protests.

“It has been three years that we have had electricity problems, our electricity is cut off without warning, and on some days we don’t have water. We also want trains to operate again so that we can use them to go to work. We earn too little money having to use taxis,” said Ngwenya.

In White City, Jabavu, about 200 households in ward 36 have been bedevilled by electricity blackouts since January. Pensioner Miriam Khumalo, 68, who lives with three of her grandchildren who are unemployed, said not having electricity had a knock-on effect on their meagre income.

Khumalo said she did not vote because her community has lodged numerous complaints with the City of Johannesburg but to no avail.

“I pay neighbours in other parts of this township to charge my phone and sometimes store our groceries. We are forced to live hand-to mouth because wec an’t stock up on groceries. That is a more expensive way of living,” said Khumalo.