By Doreen Mokgolo
Residents of the Mkhanqwa informal settlement in Ekurhuleni have vowed not to vote during the upcoming general election, and that no voting station will be allowed to operate in the area until their service delivery grievances have been met.
They said officials of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) will not be permitted into the area for voter registration this weekend (3 and 4 February), nor during the general elections set to take place later this year.
On Thursday night, frustrated residents torched the car of Ward 82 ANC councillor Desmond Buitendacht after he attempted to convince them at an open-air meeting to allow the IEC into the settlement on the weekend.
Buitendacht escaped unharmed and police have opened a case of malicious property damage.
Speaking to Scrolla.Africa Sifiso Skhosana, who described himself as the “chairperson of the community”, said residents were tired of being asked to vote when they had been continually ignored and sidelined by the government.
“In the past 30 years we have seen councillors come and go who have all made promises that they never deliver on,” he said.
“The only power we have is in the vote. We will teach them a lesson by withholding our votes as we are not beneficiaries of services in this country. Maybe then they will take us seriously.”
Skhosana said residents want decent houses, electricity, water, sanitation and clinics. And if this is not possible, they want to be moved to sites where they will have access to these services.
“No one will be allowed in this community – not even the ward councillor – until we receive a concrete response on the memorandum we submitted a week ago,” Skhosana said.
That memorandum, delivered to Buitendacht last week, outlined the residents’ grievances and demanded that officials, including the MMC for Human Settlements and the ward co-ordinator, respond with concrete proposals to their demands.
Another resident, Minah Madiba, said people in Mkhanqwa are tired of being excluded from the integrated development plan budget with the promise of being moved to other areas.
“Every time we inquire with the ward councillor we are told the Ekurhuleni municipality doesn’t have money, yet we pay taxes,” she said.
Councillor Buitendacht confirmed that he is talking to the metro to try to resolve the challenges in the area.
Picture above: ANC councillor Desmond Buitendacht’s torched car.
Image source: Doreen Mokgolo.
