While there was a buzz of excitement about the voter registration weekend from various political parties in the metro, as they urged residents to register for the upcoming national and provincial elections in 2024, in Marikana informal settlement there was a different atmosphere as two voting stations could not open.
The residents together with community leaders instructed the voting stations not to open in a protest against poor service delivery.
The residents said since they had occupied the land in 2014 little or no progress had been made in improving their poor living conditions.
Community leader, Loyiso Nkqintiza, said residents took a decision not to participate in the registration weekend process because they feel that they had been voting but nothing has changed in their lives.
He said the decision to not participate in the registration or to check whether they are eligible to vote was not taken lightly.
“We feel whether we have voted or not, still does not change our challenges and problems.
‘We have taken this decision because we feel that we are not in the top priority list in terms of service delivery.
“This is our silent cry for help and we are hoping that someone will hear our cry for intervention and help us,” he said.
Mr Nkqintiza said a few years ago the City informed them that they could not install flushing toilets and connect electricity in the informal settlement because the land belonged to a private company.
However, he said they learnt that the City has purchased the majority of the land and they don’t know why the City could not install basic services.
He called on all spheres of government to respond to their basic needs.
The provincial electoral officer from the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) Michael Hendrickse, said the responsibility of the IEC, in line with its mandate, is to ensure that it provides reasonable opportunities for South Africans to register and or to re-register in the event their details have changed – this is especially where they have moved.
In keeping with this responsibility, he said the IEC in the province had provided for all 1572 voting stations to open on Saturday November 18 and Sunday November 19.
But in Marikana in Ward 35, two voting stations did not open due to issues unrelated to the IEC.
In the interest of the safety of the staff, he said the owners of the venues and the community members, the decision was taken not to open.
However, other voting stations in Ward 35 had been operating.
“Echoing the sentiment as expressed by the Chief Electoral Officer, it is not acceptable that members of the community cannot make use of the opportunities provided by the IEC to participate in our democratic processes.
“We call on members of the community to always allow the IEC to operate across the province while they resolve their concerns with the relevant role-players.
“We remind all eligible citizens and voters that the online registration facility remains available 24/7, while registration can also be done at our local offices. The IEC is also planning to have another registration weekend, on a date to be announced, which will be before the proclamation of the general election.”
Mayoral committee member for human settlements, Carl Pophaim, said the City has purchased the portions of land, which were part of the court mediation process.
The Marikana informal settlement exists on various parcels of land, some of which are privately owned land. The majority of the land is owned by the City.
He said the city is currently undertaking the compulsory feasibility studies in order to obtain development rights for the settlement.
Once all planning approvals are received, he said the City will begin with the upgrading of the informal settlement. A period of 18 to 24 months is required for all statutory processes to be completed.
In the interim, the City is providing basic services in the informal settlement.
Ward councillor Mboniswa Chitha said he was not happy that the voting stations were closed as it denied people an opportunity to register and there are people who still want to exercise their democratic right of voting.
