Cape Town - There’s been a groundswell of support from Bonteheuwel residents to spoil their ballots at the polls on August 3, in protest against crime and poor service delivery.
It’s been sparked by a Facebook post from the chairwoman of the Bonteheuwel Joint Peace Forum, Judith Kennedy, that she would be spoiling her ballot, accompanied by a picture of a red, bloody cross and the hashtag #iamspoilingmyballotwithmyblood.
Although Kennedy said this was not the official position of the forum, nor had she intended to start a campaign for others to follow suit, the idea is neverthelessgaining momentum.
Residents have been responding to Kennedy’s post with the hashtags - #uitstiekensaamstaanissiemainding #iambonteheuwel #themovementstartswithme.
They say they are imprisoned in their homes due to violence and gangsterism.
“The problems are systemic and how the system operates is designed to keep people where they are,” said Kennedy.
“The onus is always on the community, but the public servants don’t take any responsibility. The calibre of councillors that are being put up - we don’t know them, they have no track record in the community. People don’t know the candidates. We haven’t seen them at community meetings. They just fall out of the woodwork.”
Residents said if they do not make their voices heard through a protest vote, “political parties will go on with business as usual”.
In a poster online, Bonteheuwel residents said they were tired of being “political footballs” and are calling on other Cape Flats residents to join them in spoiling their ballots.
“If our vote is our voice, let’s use it and spoil our ballots. Let’s send a message that we will no longer be ignored and thrown to the wolves,” wrote Brian Adams.
Noleen Peterson added: “The politicians have blood on their hands. We who voted for them have blood on our hands. We run to the polls and put them there and they disgrace, degrade and deface us.”
Bonteheuwel largely falls in ward 50, but a part is also shared with ward 31.
In 2011, fewer than 10 000 votes from more than 15 000 registered voters were cast for a ward councillor in ward 50, with 109 spoilt votes.
Just more than 15 809 voters are registered to vote in that ward in this election.
Asked whether spoiling her vote was the way to bring about change, Kennedy said: “Changing the person in office, will it really change the system? People don’t have choices. They don’t know the candidates and they don’t have faith in the parties. It doesn’t matter who ends up there. People are dying, children are traumatised. They haven’t had a holiday because they have been trapped in their homes.”
Acknowledging that the situation in Bonteheuwal was “severely problematic” and “a complete travesty”, mayco member for safety and security JP Smith said the police had to shoulder the blame for the ongoing violence in the area.
The conviction rate for gang-related crimes in the city was only 2 percent.
“We are already doing more than any local government. Our job is to manage traffic and enforce by-laws. We can’t investigate murders. But we are taking as many firearms off the street as the SAPS,” he said.
The city was spending R46 million on gang interventions and it also had a stabilisation unit to assist in troubled areas.
“What we do, we do with aplomb,” said Smith.
“Only a ninth of our staff is working on crime prevention. But if control over the police was brought down to provincial level, then we will see real change.”
In a circular from the forum, it said it was “gatvol” that innocent people were being shot, maimed, injured and killed.
Last week, three teenagers were shot and injured in gang-related violence. A train driver was also robbed, shot and killed at Netreg station.
Kennedy said the forum was not prepared to accept claims there were not enough resources to get a grip on crime in the area.
The forum said it would not allow itself to be placated during election time with the promise of new pavements and the upgrading of public toilets, but when there were killings in the area, politicians failed to show up.
Cape Argus