As South Africa gears up for the local government elections on 1 November, disgruntled voters in Tshwane and Ekurhuleni say they have little reason to cast their ballots
It has been nearly two years since devastating flash floods washed away homes in Seven Seven, a section of the Buffer Lake 77 shack settlement along the Moretele River in Mamelodi, Pretoria.
“Why do we even need these people? They go to courts all the time to fight communities. The reason they have bodyguards and guns is because they are killing each other and doing nothing for the masses. These are the same people who were put in those positions by the masses. They are rotten and that is an understatement. [They are] busy stealing money and being corrupt at our expense.”
“When the government sees these things [people organising themselves], they feel they have been rendered useless,” said Matibela. “We allowed them to come in and help us, but all they did was damage and make empty promises and we are still here. You are hit by a pandemic, but you are stuck in a squatter camp with no job, living on empty promises.
“There are [two] months left until December, and now people will spend Christmas here again [hoping] that it doesn’t rain again. You can’t make plans, you can’t buy furniture. You are waiting to be relocated, but there is nothing you can do without knowing what they are planning for,” he said. Choma has voted previously but doesn’t want to come 1 November. “I don’t see politicians doing anything for me or for informal traders. I don’t see any progress or assistance. Instead of helping us, they exploit and harass us. They are calling and [texting] us, but when we need them, they don’t help us. They just help their pockets. The poorest are the poorest because of them. There is no improvement.
“We are fighting a lot of things in Mayfield. At extension 5, the roads are always full of sewerage. When there are jobs, we just see people hired and we are not told as people who live here [what is going on],” she said.
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