Cape Town - Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and National Council of Provinces chairperson Amos Masondo have urged voters to go out in their numbers to vote today.
They said the elections were important in determining who would govern them at the local level.
They said the future of the country lies in the hands of the people.
It is the voters who have a say on how they want to be led.
The presiding officers said this would be the sixth local government elections in the last 27 years.
“The local government elections present us with an opportunity to elect leaders that will represent the people in the local sphere of government for the next five years. By participating in these elections, we will be choosing people to lead in the provision of crucial basic services. We need to always claim our constitutional right to determine and influence how we are governed and to hold accountable those we elect,” said Mapisa-Nqakula and Masondo.
They added that voters would decide who would best deliver basic services to them.
During the election campaign by political parties, voters have been complaining about lack of service delivery.
“It is your basic responsibility under the Constitution to participate and determine how you are governed and ensure quality service delivery,” said Mapisa-Nqakula and Masondo.
They said municipalities are at the coalface of service delivery.
“It is the responsibility of municipal councils to deliver services to the people. It was through the struggle for liberation that allowed people to go to the ballot box to choose their leaders. The country must continue to engage in democratic processes when selecting its leaders, said the presiding officers.”
POLITICAL BUREAU