Voters will head to various voting stations across the City for the municipal elections which take on Monday November 1, which has not also been officially declared as a public holiday.
Residents are determined that whoever is elected ward councillor when they go to the polls next week, must have Hout Bay’s interests at heart and at the top of their priority list.
On Monday November 1, registered voters will be able to exercise their democratic right and civic duty by voting at one of the six voting stations - Llandudno Primary School, Sentinel Primary School, Oranjekloof Moravian Primary School, Iziko Lobomi Community Centre, Gospel Outreach Ministry Church and Hout Bay Library.
Lorna Manuel from Hout Bay said the area had much to offer and she hoped that the new ward councillor would work on “improving” the area.
“We have a councillor who has worked on the ground for so many years, fighting many issues and working hard at improving Hout Bay. We only want to see whoever is coming in next to do the same, for the better of Hout Bay,” she said, adding that Hout Bay had been “spoilt” to have a councillor such as Roberto Quintas, who was recently appointed as Mayco member for Transport, (“Quintas gears up for a new chapter,” Sentinel News, August 27, 2021).
Another resident said he hoped that with his vote, the many issues which had remained “untouched for years” would be addressed by the new ward councillor.
“We still have so many people living in poverty and in need of proper housing. We still have so people in need of proper running water and a flushing toilet. The new ward councillor must address these issues, tackle them head-on and make that part of their everyday struggle in this community,” said Paul Jenkinson, also from Hout Bay.
“We have such a beautiful and diverse community, so much history and so much to offer the world. The new ward councillor must take all of this into consideration. We cannot be advertising the beauty of Hout Bay, the water, the harbour and things, but forget about the ugly, people without food, houses, water and other basic needs.
“This time I am voting for the person I feel will make the above happen and not because a party made all these promises.”
In 2016, the DA took Ward 74 with 62% of the votes, followed by the ANC with 33.9% and the EFF with 1.4%. But two of the six voting districts in the ward – in Imizamo Yethu – are strong bastions of ANC support, pulling well in excess of 80% of the vote in 2016. Another voting district, in Hangberg, saw the ANC net 25.5% to the DA’s 68% in 2016.
Mr Quintas, of the DA, will be seeking a further five-year term when his constituents go to the polls.
He told Sentinel News that he remained confident that the IEC would “always live up to its reputation of delivering professional, free, fair and impartial management of the electoral process” at the six voting stations on Election Day and over the Special Votes weekend.
“We are ready to see the elections through, and I am confident that voters in the Ward are confident in my track record, despite the many challenges of these last five years, and I hope to be re-elected, by the Grace of God and the will of the electorate,” he said.
Meanwhile, other candidates are waiting patiently for the polls to open and remain hopeful for change.
GOOD Party candidate and local favourite, Lee Smith, said if any political party were to be given an opportunity to govern any ward or metropole, “it must be earned in the period between elections”.
“My view is that this hasn't happened. It's shameful that all political parties subscribe to these electioneering tactics and the sad fact is that all the while the citizens suffer each in their own way. This is something I am hoping to change going forward in the political arena,” Mr Smith said.
“We must respect the voice of the citizens. Win or lose, we must move forward by earning their votes rather than by conning the public for their votes.”