Voters are trickling through the doors of the town hall, once an iconic landmark in Benoni, with the voting station having opened promptly at 07:00.

Long-time Benoni resident Erna Mouton told Benoni City Times she voted for effective service delivery.

“Walking into the town hall, which historically hosted glitzy events, and now seeing it in total disrepair is a sign of how poorly the local government has performed, in terms of maintenance and service delivery.

“Service delivery isn’t about constantly repairing infrastructure; it is about effective maintenance. You can’t simply plug a pothole; you need to address the cause.”

For Divesh Sivdeyal, his vote was cast with the hope of effecting positive change to benefit the citizens of South Africa.

Another voter, who wished to remain anonymous, was slightly less positive.

“If the Madlanga Commission has taught us anything, it is that the rot is deep in the South African government,” he said.

“If we want to see positive change, we need to vote the current administration out of parliament.”

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