Fulani’s sentiments were echoed by another pensioner, 72-year-old Sarah Maloba.
She also said unlike 1994, she was not excited to cast her vote this time.
“In 1994, I was happy and excited to vote because we wanted to vote for a party that had promised to liberate us, but now you can see we are just coming to vote nje! We know that our problems will not change,” she said.
High unemployment, crime, and poverty are some of the challenges Maloba raised.
She said one of the factors that made her limp from her house, which is approximately 10 metres away and takes about 20 minutes, to the voting station was because she wants a new administration.
“We want a government that will fight crime in this area because young people in this area are criminals because of unemployment. We want a party that will create job opportunities for people and end poverty in black communities because they end up robbing us of pension money,” she said.
Both Fulani and Maloba live in Jukulyn, a township in the north of Tshwane that is worn down by crime. It is notoriously known for its high crime rate of crime, ranging from shootings, hijackings and attacking emergency service personnel while attending to emergency calls in the area.
The area was declared one of the “red zones” in Gauteng by health and wellness MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko last year.
Gunmen recently shot and killed 5-year-old Ditebogo Junior Phalane while hijacking his father in the area.
Soshanguve pensioner votes with sadness
Excitement he felt back in 1994 is now gone
Image: Herman Moloi
A Soshanguve pensioner who was one of the many who braved the cold to cast their votes said he was voting with a broken heart because they have been failed by the government and that the euphoria and excitement he felt when he voted back in 1994 was gone.
“In 1994, I was very happy because we voted to end the apartheid regime by voting. Now we are voting with broken hearts because the government has been making promises to better our lives and our children’s lives, but when you check, everything is expensive. They have failed us,” Wilson Fulani said.
“We can barely afford to buy food, especially those of us who depend on grants from the government.”
Fulani’s sentiments were echoed by another pensioner, 72-year-old Sarah Maloba.
She also said unlike 1994, she was not excited to cast her vote this time.
“In 1994, I was happy and excited to vote because we wanted to vote for a party that had promised to liberate us, but now you can see we are just coming to vote nje! We know that our problems will not change,” she said.
High unemployment, crime, and poverty are some of the challenges Maloba raised.
She said one of the factors that made her limp from her house, which is approximately 10 metres away and takes about 20 minutes, to the voting station was because she wants a new administration.
“We want a government that will fight crime in this area because young people in this area are criminals because of unemployment. We want a party that will create job opportunities for people and end poverty in black communities because they end up robbing us of pension money,” she said.
Both Fulani and Maloba live in Jukulyn, a township in the north of Tshwane that is worn down by crime. It is notoriously known for its high crime rate of crime, ranging from shootings, hijackings and attacking emergency service personnel while attending to emergency calls in the area.
The area was declared one of the “red zones” in Gauteng by health and wellness MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko last year.
Gunmen recently shot and killed 5-year-old Ditebogo Junior Phalane while hijacking his father in the area.
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