Diepsloot residents skirt sewage on the way to vote
Thousands of people made their way through pollution and sewer leaks to Diepsloot Combined School to cast their votes on Wednesday morning.
In their coats, beanies, gloves and blankets, many huddled around fires lit by vendors outside the school selling food, vetkoek, tea and coffee to those who would be making their marks on the ballot papers.
Seated under gazebos, political parties set up tables outside the school gate to encourage people to vote for their parties.
The elderly and injured waited at the gate with many saying they had arrived between 3am and 5am. But frustration and tempers flared when the voting station did not open on time.
A vehicle escorted by the Johannesburg metro police department arrived at 7.20am with ballot boxes, 20 minutes after the voting station was due to open. Due to delays in delivering stationery and the voters’ roll, the gates opened at 7.40am with the elderly, disabled and injured being prioritised.
Resident Welile Khusi, who has been living in Diepsloot since 1998, arrived at 3am to cast his vote. Carrying a stick, he said it was to protect himself from the criminals in the area as he had left home in the dark. Having lived in the area for 26 years, he said the only change he had seen in his community was the construction of RDP houses.
“We can’t live in a place where there is no employment; people are struggling and people are corrupt and we watch them with our eyes open. Also, this thing of living with people who are in the country without the required documents. They don’t have fingerprints and no one knows them.
“People get killed in Diepsloot and no one knows who did it. If that is solved, perhaps crime will be better. We are not saying people shouldn’t come into the country because we also travel to other countries, but they should be approved first to get into the country,” he said.
Khusi walked out looking proud after casting his vote, hoping it would help oust the governing party. “I managed to cast my vote but I want the ANC out and I don’t know what else to do. I hope my vote gets them out,” he said.
For the youth, unemployment was of concern. Lebogang Marokane, who was at the voting station as a Red Cross first-aider, said she hoped the new government would create jobs.
She was pleased that the governing party had provided skills development programmes in Diepsloot, such as a computer lab for computer courses. Marokane enrolled in the free first-aid course offered by the Red Cross.
“I am here to assist the elderly, those who are injured and whoever might need CPR. I just want our government to create jobs. We are not working and it’s not fun. The crime in Diepsloot is high. People are killed regularly. The government is trying, though. The good thing they did is the many educational development programmes. I think a lot of the youth can take that opportunity,” she said.
First-time voter Kgomotso Maranda jumped with joy when she finally cast her first vote. Maranda, a member of the ANC Youth League, said the governing party gave her a roof over her head, though she hoped to find employment.
“I feel bad when people criticise the ANC because some of them are gaining a lot of things from it.”