Soweto - Angry community members in Soweto on Monday didn’t let voting day stop them from expressing their anger towards lack of service delivery.
As President Cyril Ramaphosa made his way to Chiawelo to cast his ballot alongside his wife, Dr Tshepo Motsepe, he met up with protesting residents who complained about the lack of water and electricity in their area.
Some roads leading to the voting station where Ramaphosa cast his vote were barricaded with rocks and rubble.
Shirley Khambane from ward 11 in Chiawelo said their area often has a number of problems, including lack of water and electricity.
Video: Ntombi Nkosi/IOL Politics
“It has been three years that we have had electricity problems, they take electricity without notice, and there are days where we don’t have water. We also want trains to operate so that we can use them to go to work. We earn too little money having to use taxis. Ramaphosa has made empty promises to develop parks and libraries. Drugs are a huge problem here,” she said.
Meanwhile, the president, addressing the media after he had voted, indicated that the provision of services in municipalities has to change.
“They expressed themselves in the form of protest for what they believed might not have been done. We have been saying we know what the problems are, and we have said this time around we want to correct what has not been going well,” Ramaphosa said.
City of Joburg mayor Mpho Moerane alongside Gauteng Premier David Makhura, as well as national spokesperson Pule Mabe, had accompanied the president to the area.
Political Bureau