#IMadeMyMark: Birchleigh resident believes the youth has the loudest voice
Birchleigh resident, Lesiba Methe, feels honoured that she was born two days after the country’s first democratic elections.
South Africa is celebrating 25 years of democracy this year after seeing the first democratic elections on April 27, 1994.
April 27, also referred to as Freedom Day, commemorates the liberation of the country.
South Africans will go to the polls on May 8 for the sixth democratic elections, to vote for national and provincial governments.
Among those registered to vote is Birchleigh resident, Lesiba Methe (25), who was born two days after the first democratic elections.
Lesiba, whose second name is April, told Express she would be voting for the second time after being eligible to vote for the first time in the 2014 elections.
The interview also shone light on her views as a person whose age is in line with the country’s democracy.
Q: You were born in the year when the country saw the first democratic elections, how does that make you feel?
A: “Well, I am honoured that I was born in a year that brought great change for South Africans.”
Q: Why do you vote?
A: “It is my constitutional right and I will use that right to have a say in who I trust to govern the country I reside in.”
Q: Why do you think it is important to vote and make your mark?
A: “I feel, as a young South African, it’s important to vote because the youth make up a large population of voters in our country. So ultimately the youth has the loudest voice and the mark you make now will determine the next five years of your youthful life.”
Q: What is the one thing that you wish the government could change for the better?
A: “I wish our government could invest more in natural gas, because not only is it one of the cleanest and safest forms of energy, it will also help with the electricity crisis we face. It will stimulate our economy and create a number of new jobs and skills developments for the youth at large.”
Q: In your opinion, what has the country achieved in the 25 years of democracy? And what can be done to ensure South Africa has a good future ahead as a democratic country?
A: “Equality, even though there are still aspects of that equality that require ironing out. I also like what the Gauteng MEC for education, Panyaza Lesufi, is doing with building more schools and developing specialisation schools like Rhodesfield Technical High School.
“The learners who leave those schools after matric will benefit the country with not only the knowledge they have acquired but with the skills as well. They will go on to add to the economic growth of the country.
“I hope what the MEC is doing will not only be limited to schools in Gauteng but expand nationally. As the late Nelson Mandela once said, ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world’.”
