Voting is your constitutional responsibility, make your mark

It’s been five long years since the last local elections.

A lot has changed in that period, most notably we have a new president in Cyril Ramaphosa, thanks to the national general elections two years ago, and Covid has forced us to change the way we approach everyday life.

But, as much has things have changed, sadly the more things have stayed the same – or even got worse in terms of service delivery.

In short, your local municipality can do better to make sure your basic needs are fulfilled.

Over the last few months, every political party and independent candidate has stood up and told you why you should vote for them.

We’ve seen the street posters. We’ve heard the slogans. They’ve made countless promises.

We need to now make sure they are held accountable for their words by having our say.

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It’s a cliche, but today you have the opportunity to make the change you want to see by voting for the candidates and political parties you feel will get things right where you live.

Today, 26.2 million people are eligible to cast their votes at the polls – the country’s sixth local government elections.

Obviously not all of the 26.2 million people will vote, which is a massive pity as we need to see millions of people turning up in numbers to cast their vote if we want to see change.

It can’t carry on the way it is.

A huge increase in independent candidates – 1,546 to be precise – will stand in these elections.

Voters will have 325 parties to choose from, with 95,427 qualified candidates in the running.

Voting is your constitutional responsibility. If you don’t vote, you won’t have a say in who is elected to lead your city or town.

After all, it is your hard-earned money that is used in taxes. Make your mark today. It’s the right thing to do.