DURBAN - Westville residents were also feeling the pain of unsatisfactory service delivery, said Sally Draper, 83, and her husband Bill, 87, as they cast their ballots at Westville’s Truro Hall.
Bill Draper said the service delivery was unsatisfactory as the verges were no longer cut and the bin bags were not collected on time.
"We hope our vote during this election will transfer the power to the independent candidates, who might do a better job at providing services."
The couple said they had been Westville residents for almost 50 years.
“We used to get very good services in the area, but now we are no longer happy, and thus we require change,” he said. Sally said voting was her civic duty and that she would always vote.
Durban businesswoman Shauwn Mkhize joined a very long queue at Atholton Primary School in uMhlanga to cast her ballot. She encouraged people, especially those in business, to vote, make their voices heard and be part of the decision-making process.
“Our economy is not doing well. Covid-19 was here, but at the end of the day we still need to vote. If you don’t vote, and things are not going your way, you can’t complain because you didn’t make the mark to choose who you want to lead in your area,” Mkhize said.
She added that in a country where there were talks about radical economic transformation, one needed to be part of decision making.
Businesswoman Shauwn "MaMkhize" Mkhize before casting her vote at Atholton Primary School in uMhlanga. She spoke about the importance of voting during the Covid-19 pandemic and recent civil unrest. #LGE2021 #Elections2021 #LocalGovernmentElections #LocalGovernmentElections2021 pic.twitter.com/fpEvA7dJ3s
— Daily News (@DailyNewsSA) November 1, 2021
“If you think others are going to stand up and voice your concerns, you are lying. They don’t know what you want. It’s always right and fair for you to stand up and do it for yourself.”
She said change was difficult, but one needed to adapt.
“I was in the construction space before Covid-19, but I found that the construction space was becoming more difficult during Covid-19. So, I’ve moved on.”
Dr Nobubele Potwana a retired academic from @UKZN expressed her disappointment at the lack of young voters after she cast her vote at Atholton Primary School in uMhlanga. @NobubelePotwan2 #LGE2021 #Elections2021 #LocalGovernmentElections #LocalGovernmentElections2021 pic.twitter.com/RxQiLoNNTZ
— Daily News (@DailyNewsSA) November 1, 2021
Retired University of KwaZulu-Natal academic Dr Nobubele Potwana, 68, said she was unhappy about the absence of youth in Durban North, who seemingly did not want to vote.
“What concerns me is that they then go around claim to possess ideas that can help this country. Where are they parking those ideas? And when are we going to hear about them? Now they are not voting, so they don’t even have a voice in anything except for complaining.”
Potwana said many people had gone out to vote, but the first ones to demand things from the government would be the voiceless youth sitting at home.
Former @eThekwiniM deputy mayor Fawzia Peer has been to Westville and other areas to monitor voting for the @IECSouthAfrica #LGE2021 #Elections2021 #LocalGovernmentElections #LocalGovernmentElections2021 pic.twitter.com/Wygy7r3rhP
— Daily News (@DailyNewsSA) November 1, 2021
Former eThekwini Municipality deputy mayor Fawzia Peer wore an Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) bib, as one of the chosen peace messengers to observe and lend extra mediation capacity to the IEC’s efforts.
“The most important thing is to be available to the women to report incidents of violence during elections, because with the South African experience, there are high levels of gender-based violence during elections. There’s intimidation, sexual harassment, and women candidates are often intimidated,” Peer said.
Daily News