Marianne Merten
A lack of change in their lives and disillusionment with politics are key reasons why many Cape Flats youths are likely to stay away from the polls on June 2.
One youth who will not be voting is Dale, of the working-class area of Heideveld. Now 23 years old, he was a first-time voter in 1994.
Remembering the excitement of that election, Dale says it was important to vote then as the country was emerging from apartheid, but nothing has changed five years later.
“For the local people, things are the same way they used to be. There are still no houses, no jobs. I won’t vote again. People tell me I must [vote] to change things. Nothing has changed. I’m not making a fool of myself again.”
The Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) latest voter registration statistics for the Western Cape show that just more than half (51,3%) of potential first-time voters aged between 18 and 20 have put their names on the voters’ roll.
IEC representative Victor Dlamini says registration figures among the youth are in line with international trends of comparatively low youth voter registration levels. He adds that although the IEC would have liked a greater level of registration, it is aware this is the first ever all- inclusive voters’ roll.
Many of Dale’s friends have made a conscious decision not to register. They do not blame any party for the lack of improvement in their lives, but are generally disillusioned with politics. They say it has become clear that people do not matter – only money.
Walheed (22) is repeating matric to improve his marks. Last month he applied for a job as a messenger, but did not get it. The rejection is the latest in a long series of “no thank yous”. Asked why he did not register to vote, he says: “Things are still the same. Crime is actually getting worse than it was four or five years ago. For us there’s nothing but to live in the ghettos.”
Political parties acknowledge the youth’s disenchantment with politics.
Western Cape United Democratic Movement secretary Malizole Diko is 28 years old and can relate to some of the disillusionment. He says it is clear many youngsters have lost interest in politics because they feel neglected. At a meeting at the University of the Western Cape, he says, students asked him how they could believe politicians when promises of loans and bursaries had not materialised.
Diko says youths need to actively participate in politics and force politicians to take note of their concerns.
African National Congress provincial representative Cameron Dugmore says the party has managed to capture young voters predominantly in Cape Town’s townships, but also on the Cape Flats, with awareness drives during the registration period. The ANC is quite direct with youngsters: “What the youth must focus on is to make themselves more employable. Unless the youth are active and involved, they will miss opportunities.”
Democratic Party representative Phillip Grobler agrees there is “a definite problem”, which the party is trying to address through discussion forums and pamphlets. He says one problem is the inability of school leavers to find jobs.
New National Party media director Juli Kilian agrees. She says it is crucial that the youth participate in the elections so that they can have a future.
Sean Jacobs of the Institute for Democracy in South Africa says the youth of today is very different from the highly politicised youth of the 1980s and early 1990s.
This year’s first-time voters were 13 years old in 1994. After experiencing democracy for five years, many are now asking themselves what politicians can do for them. Very often the answer is that politics is nothing but a fight among adults.
But there will still be some young people going along with the system, at least for the moment.
Caroline (20), from Langa, has registered because: “They told us to.” Asked what she expects from politicians, she shrugs and replies that maybe they will give her and her friends jobs.
There is agreement among the Heideveld youths who were interviewed that politicians only show up before an election.
Dale laughs when asked about politicians, saying they have delivered nothing but empty promises. One exception is President Nelson Mandela. “Mandela really is just about the only one in government one could respect. People in Parliament are just so corrupt.”
Two of the group aged between 17 and 23 are doing matric at a local high school which, during the 1980s, had a reputation of actively participating in the struggle. Damien (18) says there are 80 matriculants at the school. Last year only one received a bursary for further education. “First the teachers went, then the windows and doors. Now even the toilet bowls are missing.”
Denver (20) was shot at twice over the Easter weekend. He says it is often too dangerous to walk outside after dark. Damien adds that the police are never around when they are needed.
When there is peace among rival gangsters, one teenager says, it is so peaceful and one feels free. But the peace never lasts.
If there were more jobs, there would be fewer gangsters, says Dale. There are many decent people struggling to make a living on the Cape Flats and no one pays any attention to them. There simply is too much violence.
“Life is cheap. You become so cold in this place. You have no feelings.”