Johannesburg - Not even low temperatures and broken promises by the municipality could stop Mandela informal settlement residents in Bekkersdal from making their mark on Wednesday morning.
The voting station in the area was packed as early as 6am and Mondli Sibanda, 30, said despite all the empty promises of service delivery over the years, he was hoping that this year change would come.
"By casting my vote today, I hope it is the end of corruption. I am confident that this will happen since the ANC has a new president," he said.
Sibanda has resided in the settlement for 10 years and was retrenched from a mining company in October last year. "The issues that we face here are jobs, water, electricity, houses - we stay in shacks. There are no roads, just gravel mud and rubbish everywhere. Generally life here is hard. Imagine raising children here. Something has to give," he said.
Nomfusi Khenene voted for the first time at the Mandela Informal Settlement, Bekkersdal on Wednesday. Video: Nokuthula Mbatha/African News Agency (ANA)
Nineteen-year-old first time voter Nomfusi Khenene said she was extremely excited to have made her mark and it is the responsibility of every South African citizen to do so.
"I'm honestly not at that stage in my life where I can complain about anything because I am not fending for myself. I do, however, sympathise with people who are less fortunate and would encourage them to use this opportunity as it only comes once every five years," said Khenene.