_Underage but affected: Teens slam service delivery, GBV failures, and vote-for-show politics_
QWAQWA – They cannot vote yet, but they are already fed up. With less than one week left before the November 4 Local Government Elections, young people in QwaQwa say municipal leaders have failed them on jobs, safety, and basic dignity.
“I feel so sad because of the things that are happening in our municipality. Even though we speak about the things that they must fix, I feel like our voices are not heard,” said 15-year old Mamello Shabalala.
Her peer, 15-year old Tsoanelo Tsiu, went further – questioning whether girl children are safe under current leadership.
“Honestly, I don’t feel happy about our governing parties. I feel our rights are not heard. Especially as a girl child, our rights are not taken seriously,” she told _The Guard_.
She said even schools have stopped listening.
“Some teachers do not pay attention to our wellbeing or listen to our concerns.”
*’THEY ONLY CLEANED WHEN PRESIDENT CAME’*
For 14-year old Bonolo Motaung, the anger is about unemployment and what she calls performative governance.
“The young people are very disadvantaged. They don’t hire them, but many are qualified. They give foreigners jobs,” she said.
She pointed to the recent presidential visit as proof the municipality can act – when it wants to impress.
“We saw weeks back that the president was here and only then did they clean our streets. This shows they don’t care about us. All they do is misuse our money.”
*11-YEAR OLD KNOWS MORE THAN POLITICIANS*
In contrast, 11-year-old Bohlokwa Motankisi offered the simplest – and most powerful – civics lesson:
“I know that the local government elections are on the 4th of November and people must go and vote. Political parties help to fix the road and give us electricity and water. That is all I know.”
Roads. Water. Electricity. The basics children understand but adults in power have failed to deliver.
As Maluti-a-Phofung heads to the polls, the message from QwaQwa’s youngest residents is clear: they are watching, they are affected, and soon – they will vote.
