'I remember voting Mandela, Mbeki and Zuma into power, but now I'm lost,' says 'hopeless' Kliptown resident

For Lina Hendricks, casting a vote in this general election was one of the hardest choices she has to make since the dawn of democracy.

Hendricks, who has lived in Kliptown for over 40 years, has seen very little change in the historical township.

Lack of service delivery, rampant crime and high unemployment have led to her disillusionment with the direction the country is moving in.

A former staunch ANC supporter, the uncertainty of which party would get her vote was evident on her face.

“I have been voting since 1994 and I have always been certain about which party I voted for. That was the ANC. I remember when we voted Mandela into power, I remember when we voted for Mbeki, even Zuma, who was corrupt — but we thought things would be better with Cyril. Nothing changes for us here in Kliptown,” said Hendricks.

“All these politicians come to Kliptown and make promises, but they forget about us as soon as they get onto the Golden Highway. So I didn’t know who to vote for this time because I haven’t seen any meaningful change in my life. We struggle with houses, we struggle with electricity, and our kids don’t have jobs. Yes, they get R350 every month, but that doesn’t help them in the long run,” she said.

We see these politicians on social media living lavishly, being driven around in big cars and surrounded by young and beautiful girls while we live in squalor.... Every day is a struggle for us. I had to drop out of school to help out at home and sometimes we go to bed without eating. My peers are engaged in lives of petty crime and are drug addicts. Why must I vote when I see that it won’t change anything? 

—  Sibusiso Ndlovu 

The pensioner was one of hundreds of people who queued outside the Kliptown Community Centre on Wednesday. 

“All these parties only care about winning the elections, but they don’t really care about the people and their needs. Kliptown is a historical township, but they treat it like an unloved and unwanted stepchild,” she said.

A few streets away, a group of youths could be seen milling about and appeared disinterested in the national elections.

Personifying apathy, the group told TimesLIVE Premium they had a grim view of participating in elections and said that the act of voting was a vehicle for politicians to fill their pockets.

Sibusiso Ndlovu, 21, said he saw no need to cast a vote because of the living conditions he has been subjected to throughout his life. He believes very little to no change would happen even if he voted.

“Why must I vote?” he asked. “We see these politicians on social media living lavishly, being driven around in big cars and surrounded by young and beautiful girls while we live in squalor. I live with my mother and two younger siblings. Every day is a struggle for us. I had to drop out of school to help out at home and sometimes we go to bed without eating. My peers are engaged in lives of petty crime and are drug addicts. Why must I vote when I see that it won’t change anything?” said Ndlovu.

While disillusionment and pessimism appeared to define the mood among some of the residents in Kliptown, others believed that the only way to resolve the long-standing issues that have plagued the township was to put their faith in new political parties that inspire a sense of renewal and hope.

“As a country, we can’t keep doing the same things and expecting different results. We need to seek alternatives and find new solutions. I want my vote to represent that change. I want my children to have a future and life that I didn’t have. We need a new government and I want to vote in people who care about us,” said Miyelani Magwaza.

Magwaza has been a resident in Kliptown for nearly 20 years. He believes that giving his vote to a smaller party will decrease the power held by the ruling party.

“These people are corrupt. All they do is think for themselves, but they’ve broken this country. We spent years without having a railway station and train tracks — the cheapest form of transport for most of us — because they don’t use it and they don’t care. I want to see change and I hope that’s what I will get,” he said.