By Mzukona Mantshontsho
Media reports have suggested that over a million South Africans turned up for voter registration over the past two days for the 2014 National Elections, at the 22,000 voting stations nationwide.
A visit to Gauteng’s region C at ward 100 and 114 revealed that the voter registration was not so impressive. “Since we opened the polling station at 8am this morning, we have only had 59 people coming in to register, which we feel hasn’t been impressive. As to the reasons for the low turnout, we have no idea, said IEC volunteers at S’godiphola Secondary School1 in extension 2 Cosmo City at around 13h00 when TransformSA visited the station on Saturday 9 November.
‘We have seen very few new voters or young people for that matter, perhaps because the young people or new voters that should be here are also writing their Matric examinations,” said the IEC officials.
“I want my voice to be heard in the next national elections. If I want changes in my community, I need to vote and make that change,” said an excited first time voter Mbulelo Booi at Tirisano Moogo primary school in extension 4 Cosmo City.
There were no disruptions reported in ward 100 and ward 114, although there were disruptions in other places in the province, like in Bekkersdal, a place that battled with violent service delivery mass action.
In my quest to understand leadership, I stumbled across statements made by Leadership Gurus John Maxwell, he said: “Everything falls on leadership, leadership is the key enabler, without leadership there is darkness”. Peter F. Drucker said: “Management is doing things right, Leadership is doing the right things”.
Every time a new leader or political party is introduced, it allows for new enthusiasm, innovations, ideas and a change of mindset. Observing the politics, emotions and theatrics at play every time there is a change in leadership; people react either with enthusiasm or strong resistance.
Our reaction to new leadership is based on the reputation of the existing leadership, combined with expectations and hopes of improvement from the new one. Either way, the introduction of new leadership and political parties brings with it a weird mixture of uncertainty, combined with hope and excitement.
If we do not like our leaders we must banish them, if we do not like our government, we must fight to change it. If we do not like the way things are going, we must speak out and stop it. Building a great South Africa is the job of each one of us. We can never entrust that to just a few people seated in the comfortable seats of parliament – but we can direct them.