ANC remains popular in Mvezo as residents vow to give party another chance

Nokwanda Tyalakhulu is so determined to cast her vote on Wednesday that she abandoned fellow congregants of her St John's Apostolic Church who went for a service and told them she will join them only after voting.

Tyalakhulu, 60, is one of the residents in the late former statesman Nelson Mandela's birthplace of Mvezo, about 60km from Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, who were eagerly waiting to make their mark on what considered one of South Africa’s most crucial elections since the dawn of democracy in 1994.

TimesLIVE caught up with her on the eve of the country's sixth general election since 1994 while she was doing washing at her homestead just above Mvezo Komkhulu, the palace of chief of the Mvezo Traditional Council and Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela.

The outspoken Tyalakhulu was forthright in her choice: "I’ll vote for the ruling party because I have seen the things they have done for us. They have built RDP houses for people who don’t have the means to build their own homes and they have done a whole lot of things."

Since 1994 she has always voted for the ANC "because of my love for the party and I’ve seen what its work and what it has done," she said.

"I should have gone to church in Cala but I will only go there after voting," said Tyalakhulu.

Earlier on Tuesday, she had bumped into Mandla Mandela’s mother, Nolusapho, on the road who gave her an ANC T-shirt because she knew she was a staunch supporter of the party.

Another Mvezo villager Lusanda Latana, 30, an unemployed mother of three children aged between three and 13, also said she will be voting for the ANC because it was a party of Tamkhulu Madiba.

"He spent 27 years in jail for this freedom that we are enjoying today. The ANC has done a lot of things for me. I’m getting a R1,200 child support grant because of the ANC and that’s why I’ll vote for them."

First time voter and painfully shy Zandile Xakatha, 25, the unemployed mother of two children who received a monthly R800 child support grant, said she will also vote for the ANC on Wednesday.

"I love [the ANC] with all my heart because Mandela was born here," she said.

Bongi Mnyaka, 20, who will be voting for the first time in the national general elections after voting in the local government elections in 2016, said: "I’m so happy because I’ll be voting for the first time in the national elections. I’ll be voting for the ANC because of what they have done here. They have built RDP homes but water is still our main concern and we’re hopeful that after the election that will be attended to."

The young man, who is repeating his matric through the Walter Sisulu University, said his dream was to pursue studies in engineering.

But local resident Mbuyiseni Ngxambane, 47, an employee of the Eastern Cape expanded public works programme, was not sure about which party he will vote for on Wednesday.

"I’m not sure who I’m going to vote. I’ll decide that when I see the ballot paper," he said.

Many Mvezo residents were already adorning their ANC T-shirts — a sign of the dominance of the ANC in the village. There are no posters of any other political parties on electrical poles in the village except ANC posters with a beaming Cyril Ramaphosa.

More than 400 residents are expected to cast their votes on Wednesday, according to IEC officials.

Mvezo traditional council polling station IEC presiding officer Thabisa Gwayibana said nine people were registered for special votes. Four voted on Monday and five on Tuesday.