Juju Valley informal settlement residents voting for party that will formalise area

POLOKWANE - Residents from the Juju Valley informal settlement in Limpopo said they are voting for a party that will formalise the area.

The residents are likely to play a deciding role in who wins Wednesday’s by-election for Polokwane’s Ward 13.

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The informal settlement, built on private land, is named after Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema.

The residents said it is in honour of Malema's famous speech a decade ago when he rallied South Africans to occupy vacant land.

A few metres from the Juju Valley voting station is a single communal tap that services a large portion of the area.

Elderly men and women carry large containers of water as they walk past political party volunteers making promises of bringing piped water to their homes.

Resident David Maphalle said while he is despondent about the future of Juju Valley, he’s still going to vote.

“I need to quickly take the water home because my children are hungry, but after I’m done, I’ll come back to vote. I have to vote.”

Another resident, Johanna Maluleke, said she's voting for change.

"I want services. I live in a shack. I want a normal bathtub, a house, water. We are struggling. I think these elections will change things. They will change our area, Juju Valley."

The Limpopo government, which is run by African National Congress (ANC), has told residents it is in the final stages of purchasing the land Juju Valley is built on.