Residents exercise their democratic right to vote

Twenty years ago, the world watched as South Africa became a liberated, free country and South Africans stood in long queues to cast their first vote. As millions of people put their cross beside the face of Nelson Mandela, those days of miracles and hope are a fading memory to some.

As South Africans queue at the polls for the first election since the death of Nelson Mandela, residents of Chatsworth fondly remember the first democratic election, and those ‘born frees,’ who now have the power to cast their first vote, air their views on their expectations.

“It was empowering to have voted in the first democratic elections as I knew that all the suffering and pain we endured during the apartheid era would finally be addressed and eradicated. I felt good. I had hope for a better future. The government elected in 1994, tried their best to move South Africa in the direction of equality and democracy. South Africa is definitely the way I had imagined it would be, but unfortunately not the way I had hoped for it to turn out after 20 years of being a democratic nation. Nevertheless, I will be voting and my concern is bribery and corruption in government. I am hoping this would be addressed properly and the relevant individuals be dealt with accordingly,” said 45-year-old Felicia Michelle Peters.

Bobby Mottian, retired manager of Bidvest Logistics, said, “I remember voting in the first democratic election. Standing in the long queue with my father and wife to vote for the first time felt so liberating because we knew that a tremendous change was to come. There was a lot of excitement because we were eager to get rid of the shackles of apartheid and regain our dignity. All we wanted was equality. We knew that once we have equality we would not be third class citizens anymore. I felt ecstatic about the thought of the first black president. I am happy with the way the country is after 20 years of democracy. The hardships we faced in the apartheid era was degrading. The racial segregation was disgusting as we are all human beings and should have been treated with dignity. We were moved from the cities to the banana plantations called Chatsworth, where low cost government built houses awaited us, and we were paid peanuts for the land that we owned. During elections in the present day, there are a lot of political parties who make promises but they never flourish. I strongly believe that if government gets rid of local government and gives more power and expertise to provincial government it will help to curb or eradicate service delivery problems. Blacks were previously extremely disadvantaged, so government has to level the playing field by implementing the quota system and black economic empowerment.”

Retired staff nurse, Saroj Naidoo, said, “When I cast my vote in the first democratic election, it was a feeling of liberation, and I remember it with great fondness. It was a historic occasion as Black people became fully fledged citizens of South Africa. I cherished the thought of a free and democratic society with equal rights for all South Africans. Back then the conduct of individuals was aspiring but today, some of the politicians and people in power conduct themselves scandalously. After 20 years of democracy, poverty is sadly still prevalent, a vast number of people do not have access to water, sanitation and proper housing, and unemployment is a huge deterring factor in the lives of youth and adults alike. Crime is rampant and that is a very serious issue we now face in comparison with the apartheid era. Voting is encouraged as power needs to be given to the right political party so that we can move South Africa forward and fulfill the dream of Nelson Mandela.”

Born free from the shackles of apartheid, Ryan Mark Naidoo, a boilermaker apprentice at Transnet, said, “Although I was ‘born free,’ my expectations was somewhat dimmed by reality. I soon realised that many of the promises made by the government and local political leaders did not materialise. Education was not free, my parents had to fork out large sums of money in order to give us a good education. The quota system at universities and other tertiary institutions further dampened my hopes and expectations. I will be voting in the 2014 elections and hope that the political party instated as government, rethink, and re-strategize, or remove the quota system, in both universities and the employment sector.”

“I will be voting for the first time in the 2014 elections. I am very excited to be a part of the decision on which political party will be the ruling party for South Africa. Many people feel that there is no need to vote as the country is not all they had dreamed it would be after 20 years of democracy, but I think if everyone felt this way and did not take a stand to make a change, then we would never have come this far. Due to the sacrifices of legendary individuals like Nelson Mandela and Chris Hani, this country has evolved from being a segregated and unfair place to live in, to becoming an equal, democratic rainbow nation. The government has done an excellent job in taking our country out of the apartheid dungeon and bringing us this far. I believe that people should appreciate South Africa and how far we’ve come and stop complaining. Rather be the change you want to see, than look for faults in everything others are doing to make this nation uprise to its full potential,” said 19 year-old, Warren Mariah.

While many people feel that their vote does not count, a huge majority of voters will take to the polls in the hopes of a better future and a better quality of living.