DURBAN - THE 2021 local government elections did not stop some holidaymakers from descending on the City of eThekwini for the long weekend ahead of elections.
The Daily News spoke to some of the visitors, who had come from many different parts of the country.
The majority of them indicated they were not going to vote because they were away from home.
Thomas Maluleke and his fiancée Tinyiko Louw said they had arrived in Durban on Thursday.
“We are disappointed with the weather, however, we needed to be away from home. The last time we had been out of Gauteng was before the Covid-19 pandemic. I had lost my job when my company was forced to close late last year, I recently got a new job in Johannesburg. So we are here to celebrate,” said Louw.
Maluleke said Ladysmith, she had no intention to vote because he was tired of empty promises.
“It will make no difference to go and vote. We are tired of politicians making promises but failing to keep them.”
Nkululeko Mkhwanazi, from Ladysmith, said he and his friends had decided to visit Durban long before the president declared Monday election day. He said they could not change the dates to accommodate the elections.
“It is unfortunate that our vacation had to clash with election day. However, there was just no clarity on whether elections would take place or not. We all thought there would be no elections. If we don’t make it back early, then we will unfortunately miss the elections,” said Mkhwanazi.
Buhle Tlokwa, from Groblersdal in Mpumalanga, said that she had not registered to vote and had no intention to do so because she was discouraged by corrupt politicians who were stealing government resources to enrich themselves.
Acting KwaZulu-Natal Tourism chief executive Phindile Makwakwa said the impact of increased tourists in the province at this time could only be measured after the elections.
“Certainly, we've witnessed that South Africans have used the fact that the elections are on a Monday to make a long weekend out of it, including some taking leave on Friday. The impact of this can only be measured when the election results have been concluded. We most definitely welcome seeing how level 1 has boosted the tourism sector and we are working closely with our tourism trade partners to prepare for the summer holidays.”
Daily News