The election imbizo, led by the House of Traditional leaders, came to Barberton recently.
The imbizos are being held in areas which fall under the rule of the Amakhosi. They give representatives of political parties a platform to campaign freely and also inform community members about the elections.
Elderly people from Mjindini Trust gathered at Chief Funwako Secondary school on Saturday to gain more knowledge about the voting process.
Gogo Sebentile Nkosi had this to say, “I don’t have any regrets to be part of the imbizo I learnt a lot. I started voting in 1994 but I was not doing the right thing, I was voting for three parties and I didn’t know that the paper was considered a spoilt ballot paper. Come voting day, I am going to do things right because now I know how to vote”.
The provincial spokesman of the IEC, Mr Sibusoso Nkosi, said the IEC in the province is more than ready for the local government election.
“We are doing our final preparation. Lastly, those who applied for special votes must be available on August 1 and 2 because if we come to your place and we don’t find you we are not coming back again,” he concluded.
The attendance of young people was poor and some said that they were not going to partake in the upcoming local government elections because their voice is not heard.
Sonnyboy Mpila said, “I am not going to vote. All the political leaders are opportunists. They are power hungry. Now they are busy campaigning, making a noise of empty promises, but after they get what they want, they vanish. So I would rather stay at home and watch TV than go to the polls”.
