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Ndzameko Sipapa’s life was almost ruined when floods swept away his shack and everything else he owned five years ago in the Nelson Mandela Bay township of Veeplaas.
Today, Sipapa (58), his wife, and four children between the ages of three and 16, live in a far more decent place – a two-bedroom RDP house in Booysens Park with a kitchen and a lounge.
On Wednesday, the unemployed father – who survives on odd jobs such as washing cars and cleaning gardens – undertook an emotional journey to vote for the first time since his shack was swept away.
Armed with a new ID book after the flood took his old one, Sipapa walked 10km from Booysens Park to the Veeplaas voting station, set up in a small tent on top of a hill.
His vote was no secret, he said.
“I used to live in an unsafe shack that was a nightmare during bad weather; now I own a house without having to pay a cent. This is all because of the ANC government. For me, there is no other party I could vote for besides the ANC, which I grew up supporting,” Sipapa said.
Sipapa was one of a number of residents who formed part of the late-afternoon rush at the voting station to cast his vote in Ward 30.
He said he had to return to Veeplaas because he was still registered there, and not in Booysens Park, a DA stronghold.
“My vote for the ANC in Ward 30 is very important. That’s why I walked such a long distance and braved the cold weather – to make sure that the ANC reclaims this ward, after losing it to the United Democratic Movement [UDM] last time. I am here to help the ANC because it also helped me in my hour of need. It is payback time,” he said.
After a by-election the ANC lost Ward 30 in August last year to UDM candidate Mandla Faltein, in a hotly contested campaign.
The ANC had won the ward.
But Sipapa’s vote was not a blank cheque, he said.
“There is a lot of work that needs to be done. The ANC needs to improve service delivery drastically. For instance, in Booysens [Park], where I now live, a water pipe would break and the municipality would take a long time to fix it. We need the municipality to fix things with speed and consistency,” he said.
He added that when he lived in Veeplaas, he used a bucket toilet, a system that is still in use in a number of areas around Port Elizabeth, and he wants it eradicated.
Sipapa said the Nelson Mandela Metro should also get closer to its people and make sure that it creates jobs for young people.
“I am now thinking of my children’s future. That is partly why I voted. Government should create job opportunities for young people. What we are seeing is young people resorting to gangsterism and drugs because unemployment in this metro is very high and endangers the future of our children. It needs to be changed,” Sipapa said before joining the queue.
After voting, Sipapa said: “We can only hope for the best. It is in God’s hands now. I have done my part. I have voted.”
