First-time voter Yolanda Sibutha, from Mqanduli in Mthatha in Eastern Cape, whose grandmother has been voting for the ANC since the dawn of democracy, will also be casting her vote on Wednesday. She said her family’s voting history would not inform her decision come Wednesday.
Sibutha’s choice for the national poll is the EFF. She said the EFF Student Command led protests on her campus against the non-payment of allowances by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.
“The EFFSC helped me to get my NSFAS allowance. I will vote for the EFF for the national government,” she said.
She said though she did not support the EFF’s policy on open borders in Africa, she liked the fact that the party had a hard stance against racism.
“The EFF always pulls through for black people.”
Sibutha said she would give the DA a chance to govern Gauteng. “The DA is in charge in Western Cape and Cape Town does not have problems with power outages,” she said.
She said her regional vote would go to ActionSA, which came to her campus with a warm meal, which included a nice beef stew and salads. “We even had seconds when we asked them for more food,” she giggled.
Qama Tyhobeka, from Cala, which is situated near Queenstown in Eastern Cape, said he would also split his vote.
“The EFF Student Command helped me with my NSFAS allowance. I will vote for the EFF. I will not vote for the MK Party; they didn’t bring anything when they came on campus. Instead, they promised female students that they will come back with sanitary pads the next day,” he said. Both Cala and Sibutha are students at Central Joburg TVET College.
EFFSC members Thabang Tema, from Protea Glen in Soweto, and Thabo Swazi from Ipelegeng, North West, waxed lyrical about how their party was committed to the fight for the rights of students.
Tema, 19, who is studying electrical engineering and is a day student living with his family, said he would vote at Faranani Primary School in Protea Glen.
Swazi, 20, who lives in Newtown and is registered for the polls using his residence address, said he would vote at the station situated near the -Johannesburg Library.
