'Nothing much has changed': Anger over govt's failures fuels voting choices in FS village
Residents in Maluti-a-Phofung local municipality have had enough of empty election promises and are using the power of their vote in the upcoming elections.
A woman queues to cast her vote. Picture: Masixole Feni/GroundUp
BOTJHABELA VILLAGE - Anger due to more than a decade of empty promises for water is what many residents of Botjhabela Village in the Free State will base their votes on.
For 15 years, the cries from residents of this small village in the Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality have fallen on deaf ears.
Despite JoJo tanks being provided to most households in Botjhabela, this is not enough.
Fury fuels the residents and they've not been afraid to speak out about government's failures.
Eighty-four-year-old Elizabeth Tshabalala told Eyewitness News that she would rather vote for the DA or even the EFF, anyone but the governing party.
Since casting her first vote in 1994, Tshabalala said that nothing much has changed for the betterment of her or her family's lives.
The pain in her eyes was visible - a woman who recognises she hasn't got much time left and who is saddened by the life she is going to be leaving behind for her family - a life of no water, electricity or jobs for anyone.
She said it was heartbreaking knowing that people still buy into the countless empty promises that come around during the election period.