83-year-old Newcastle resident remains hopeful in voting

An 83-year-old Newcastle resident says that, despite years of disappointment with local governance, she will not give up on the democratic process of voting. Erica Armstrong, who has voted since she was 18, says she will keep casting her ballot in the hope of bringing about change.

Armstrong cast her special vote today at a retirement village in Newcastle.

She hopes this election will finally deliver the improvements Newcastle residents have been long waiting for.

“Well, I’ve been voting since I was 18 in this country, but it hasn’t made all that much impact because look at our country. Well I am voting definitely for better services, better water distribution, electricity and mending of all the potholes in the town, and also clearing out the CBD and just fixing everything up because it has become a very big mess. You know, I hope my vote will make all the difference for Newcastle Area,” she says.

Meanwhile, 83-year-old Newcastle resident Ernst Tate believes voting remains the fundamental way for South Africans to hold their elected leaders accountable and make their voices heard.

“You know, I find that people that complain always just complain. They don’t try to do anything. You know, it’s like if you vote, at least you’ve tried something. If everybody votes … it doesn’t help to complain and say this, and this, and this, and then …  go to your ward councilor, and speak to him,” says Tate.