RURAL VOTERS HAVE THEIR SAY

(A section of the KwaCele village in the rural district of Dududu) (By Subry Govender) Millions of South Africans went to the polls on Wednesday, May 7 to cast their ballots in the country's 5th democratic elections. Once again, as in 1994, I covered the elections for my radio station, Radio Deutsche Welle (Voice of Germany). This time around I visited a polling booth in a rural district to the south of the coastal city of Durban to report on how rural villagers viewed the elections. This is the print version of my radio report:

(Elderly voters waiting their turn to cast their ballots at the Shonkweni polling booth in the KwaCele village) The polling booth I visited was situated at the Shonkweni Primary School in the village of KwaCele, about 120km to the south of the South African coastal city of Durban. In order to get to the village, I had to travel on a national road(N2), take a turn off at a town called Scottburgh and then drive for about 20km. The road towards the village is tarred but the drive is an hazardous one. The road is full of pot holes and one had to be extra careful in order to avoid unnecessary accidents. But despite the hazardous nature of the road, the regular motorists in taxis, cars, buses, and trucks appeared to be making the best of the situation. They zig-zagged and swerved to avoid the dangerous pot holes.

(Another section of the KwaCele village) On both sides of the road, tens of thousands of houses - of all sizes, shapes, old and modern, neat and newly-painted - dotted the undulating hills and valleys that characterise the KwaCele and several other villages. One massive mansion stood out and on inquiry with local residents later, I was told that the owner had won more than R13-million after playing the Lotto about 10 years ago. When I arrived at the Shonkweni polling station, I found a long queue of people waiting patiently to cast their ballots. I also found two groups of party agents singing and dancing, dishing out their party shirts and other paraphernalia to voters. This was obviously a last minute effort by party agents to convince the voters to make their mark for their parties.

(ANC party agents)

(NFP party agents) The officer in charge of the Shonkweni polling booth, Mr Petros Shinga, told me that the people had come out very early to make the mark. "The people of this village," he said, "are members of a community of more than 500 000 people who reside in the district of Dududu". "Although the area falls under the jurisdiction of a greater municipality, the village is one of several that falls under the tribal authority of nine traditional leaders." Some of the voters who went into the booth to cast their ballots wore ANC T-shirts that were handed to them by party agents at the entrance to the schook grounds. There were also other voters who adorned the T-shirts of the National Freedom Party(NFP), headed by by Ms Zanele Magwaza-Msibi. From my observation it seemed that the ANC dominated this rural area and beside the presence of NFP supporters, there were no other parties like the DA, EFF, COPE or IFP trying to woo the voters.

( Mr Kulekani Miya) Mr Kulekani Miya, 45, was one of the voters who was prepared to talk to about 20 years of freedom and what progress has been made in their area. "We are very, very happy," he said. "There have been lots of improvement. We have got RDP houses, tarred roads, sanitation, water, electricity, clinics, and community halls. Everything has improved now."

(Mrs Kulusile Cele with her teenage son) Mrs Kulusile Cele, a 49-year-old mother who works as a domestic assistant in a nearby urban area, said she voted because she wanted a bright future for the villagers and the children of the area. "Yes, I have voted because I want a better future for my children. I need something, I need improvement in this Mandau, in this area," she said. The voters in this area it seemed are not concerned about the high rate of corruption that has gripped the new Government, especially the allegations against President Jacob Zuma and the Nkandla security upgrades scandal.

(Ms Zanele Nuyuwase) Ms Zanele Nuyuwase, 32, said President Zuma was doing a lot for rural people and she could not understand what all the fuss was about. "I'm very happy because I have seen that everything is going very well. President Zuma is doing very well. I like him, I like him very much. He can continue to be a president. He's doing very well."

(Ms Mbali Mthetho) Another young woman, Ms Mbali Mthetho, 30, said President Zuma was her hero. "I'm feeling so happy because this president cares about us. I don't think all the criticism is true," she said.

(Born frees who want to see rapid changes) There were also a number of young people who were born after the dawn of our freedom on April 27 1994. These so called "born frees" voted for the first time. And they were much more critical of the government than their parents. They told me that many people wore ANC party T-shirts just for show. Sabani Nuyusa, a 19-year-old engineering student, said he was not happy with the manner in which elected representatives used their positions to enrich themselves, their families and friends. "Even in my area," he said, "I would like to see people getting open job opportunities, all that things". "Some students have got high qualifications but they don't get jobs. A lot of people who wear ANC T-shirts really do so for show. When they go into the booths they vote for EFF and other parties. " Twenty-year-old Ayanda Khuzwayo was another young person who wanted to see rapid changes. "I would like to see a lot of changes here since the service delivery is very poor. We don't have street lights and the roads are in a terrible condition," he said. "May be if we vote for another party we will see more changes. I am very upset about the corruption. They only put their cousin brothers, uncles and their families. The people who deserve to get jobs, don't get jobs." Fika Mdluli, 25, who is unemployed, said he believed that politicians must serve the people and not their own interests. This was causing a lot of anger among the young people. "As a young person I'd like to see a bright future for all people and for all young ones like me," he said. "I want everything to be perfect and proper."

The visit to a voting booth in this rural area has highlighted the vast differences between the lives of people in the rural and urban areas. Most of the people here have faith in the ruling ANC and leaders of the calibre of Zuma, but expectations of the new government are also very high. - ends (sg/dbn/sa)