I had made up my mind that I was not going to participate in the 2024 general elections, until my mother gave me a whole lecture about how important it is and how my vote could bring change.

Change? I voted for the first time in the 2019 general elections and I saw no change, so what change was my mother really talking about? I came up with so many excuses so that she could stop with the whole voting sermon, but did she fall for it? NO!

She even offered to accompany me to my voting station because I said it was too much of a distance to go and cast a vote that would be like a drop in the ocean.

During the weekend, I came down with flu and I told her I cannot be around people, I might pass it on to them, but usisi did not fall for that, either. Smart woman.

Here are some of the reasons why I was not going to vote:

Qualified, but unemployed.

Every year, thousands of people graduate, only to stay at home with their qualifications and celebrate the anniversaries of their graduations, not to mention the debt they will have to pay back if they get the job.

Did I tell you that my mother was also one of the people who spent years at home before she got the job she had studied for? She spent 12 years at home before she got her dream job.

Spike in crime.

Almost every day we hear about bodies being found, women and children being sexually assaulted, but we never hear about justice being served for the victims, and if the perpetrators are caught, they will get a slap on the hand.

Lack of service delivery and infrastructure.

At the top of the list is load shedding. It's amazing how all of sudden “load shedding remains suspended due to steady ongoing improvement in reliability of the generation fleet leading to sustained generation performance.”

In Adams Mission, south of Durban, they have been without water for a year and nothing is being done about it. The water flows in taps every once in a blue moon! Nobody deserves to live under those conditions.

As much as I said these are the reasons I was not going to vote, mom made me realise that these ARE the reasons I should actually go and cast my vote, and vote for a party that will align with the needs of the community.

To the youth and every citizen of South Africa, let's wake up and go make a change, we owe it to ourselves.

* Mpumelelo Dlomo is a multi-media reporter intern at IOL

** The views expressed herein are not necessarily those of IOL or Independent Media.

IOL Opinion

Mpumelelo Dlomo

Our vote is our silver lining we need for a better future