‘It’s important to use your ballot to improve conditions in SA’
First-time voter Saranya Devan talks to about change and why she is scared to become politically active
SARANYA Devan never doubted that she would vote when the time came.
In May, the 18-year-old Durban psychology student will be among South Africa’s many first-time voters — and she says she did not struggle to decide whom she would vote for.
“I want to change the country. I was very fortunate not to be a part of the apartheid era.”
Devan said learning about the history of South Africa and the impact of apartheid in school had shaped her conviction that it is her civic duty to vote — an act of gratitude for being born into a democracy and as a way of bringing about change.
“I feel that if you’re not adding your voice, you’re not making a change. You’re just lying back and watching the country go down.”
She believes the party of her choice “needs to make a change in the country, especially for the youth”.
Unemployment is an important concern for her.
She is also worried about the state of the education system, “especially after the problem with the Limpopo textbooks”, and believes crime is an issue for every South African.
Devan believes the ANC should prioritise the needs of poor South Africans before those of its leaders.
“Why would you spend R246-million on [security upgrades to president Jacob Zuma’s residence in] Nkandla when you could use the money to build houses?”
She believes the Demo- cratic Alliance “could make a change” if given a chance.
“Helen Zille has been contributing to the people and I feel that she has the right people.”
The Economic Freedom Fighters “for me, are a bit of a joke”. She does not think EFF leader Julius Malema represents all the country’s citizens, and the Minority Front “is more there for the Indian community in places like Chatsworth and Phoenix”.
Choosing the party she will vote for is easy, because she believes it might “make the necessary changes”.
Devan would like to be more actively involved in politics, but she is scared to do so.
“On campus, it’s not safe to be involved— there’s a lot of things that happen there. We try to stay away from it.
“Once, they [the Student Representative Council] were striking and we were next to them and they chased us away. We just had that feeling that they didn’t want us to be a part of it.
“We want to get involved, but we feel like if you get involved, it’s not going to change anything.”
She would like to see more racial and gender diversity in the youth leadership of political parties.
How does she feel about the campaign calling for dissatisfied citizens to spoil their ballot papers instead of voting for the ANC?
“That is so stupid. I just feel that you aren’t making a difference by doing that. You vote because you want things to change.”