We must shake up the ANC by not voting for them - Limpopo villagers

14 July 2016

Polokwane - Some residents of Mmakotse village outside Lebowakgomo in Limpopo say they will not be voting for the ANC, in the hope of sending a strong message to the party.

"ANC is our home, but with what is happening, we must shake them up a bit to ensure they go back to taking care of our needs. Hopefully they will realise people are now leaving the party and change their ways," Auntie Lekolwane told News24.

"We love the party because it liberated us, but the poverty we are living in pains us deeply. They need to be shaken and brought back to earth."

Lekolwane, an unemployed mother of four living in a two-bedroomed house, said the village was underdeveloped. The biggest challenges were a lack of water and tarred roads.

She said they had been living in the area for more than 20 years, but were still waiting to see real development.

"I have not seen any developments in the area except when they installed the electricity here five years ago. Everything else is still the same from the time we moved here. We don't have municipal offices. We travel long distances to get to the clinics. We vote, but we don't see the results. We just go and accompany others who seem to get services," she said.

She said the only way they get water was to buy it from those who have boreholes. She said what frustrated her most was that the mine nearby had water 24/7.

Residents, on the other hand, didn't.

Children caught in cycle of poverty

"We are forced to buy water from those with boreholes. We pay R1 for a bucket of a litre. We need to cook, drink and do our laundry with the very same water. We installed taps ourselves hoping we would get water, but that has not happened. They are just there decorating our yards," said Lekolwane.

She said they had grown up poor and now their children were facing the same prospect, more than 20 years into democracy.

"Politicians always come here and make promises ahead of elections, but once we vote for them they never come back. We hope the EFF will not be the same," she said.

Kgomotso Takalo echoed her sentiments. He is one of the lucky few who could afford to drill boreholes in his yard, but admitted that the lack of water and roads were critical. He added that, with all they endured, he wondered why they should continue to vote.

"It was expensive to bore the water, but circumstances forced me. Sometimes I don’t see the importance of voting because we are suffering, but are forever voting. I agree with the ones who say we must change the parties maybe that might bring us change," he said.

Takalo added that they also needed schools in the area as children had to travel long distances to get an education. The area also does not have a shopping complex and the residents have to travel to Lebowakgomo to do their shopping. Taxis don't operate within the village and people are forced to go to the main road to access public transport.

This article first appeared on News24, see here.