Power now in voters’ hands

Political parties wrapped up their campaign rallies at the weekend after months of crisscrossing the country to win over your votes in Wednesday’s national and provincial elections.

The end of electioneering gatherings marks an important milestone in the elections calendar with the casting of special votes beginning today.

The electioneering period involved a lot of drama with parties relying on manifestos to justify why they should be entrusted with power and making promises they often don’t keep.

However, the most important part of this year’s elections begins now, with the power firmly in the hands of voters to decide what kind of leaders and future this country deserves.

As in previous elections, voter turnout will be crucial in determining the direction that the country takes for the next five years.

Many South Africans are hoping for a better future and elections provide them with an opportunity to choose a government that will prioritise their needs and address most of their pressing issues.

One of these issues is the rising cost of living which stories elsewhere in this paper today show has placed many citizens in a precarious situation.

The cost of some essential items such as fuel, bread, chicken and sugar has almost doubled since the last election five years ago.

This, coupled with other economic factors such as a rising lack of jobs, inflation and debt burden on consumers, compounds the living conditions of many South Africans.

The cumulative effect of this is that SA continues to be the most unequal society in the World with high levels of poverty and unemployment. What many South Africans are yearning for is an economy that is productive enough to create jobs massively for the youth and improve our nation’s well-being.

But this cannot be achieved if politicians are not clear in their minds on what they plan to do to mitigate the effects of cost of living that is spiralling out of control.

The time for making empty promises to the electorate is over.

Now the ball is firmly in the voter’s court to make your mark and exercise your real power on Wednesday to bring about the change you want to see in future.