Estcourt - Community members from Ward 9 in Wembezi in the Inkosi Langalibalele Region in Kwazulu-Natal have raised concerns with Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma over youth representation in municipalities.
Dlamini-Zuma was conducting a door-to-door campaign on the last day of voter registration ahead of local government elections in November.
Sphesihle Cele, a 25-year-old from Ward 9 and a member of the ANC's Youth League said he would like the party win the upcoming election, and see it place young people in influential positions within municipal structures.
Cele also said drugs were a major problem among young people in the area, which had fuelled unemployment.
"We would like to see the organisation create a sporting centre for the youth of this community. Since the youth have been using drugs, there is a high rate of unemployment in this area.
"We would like to see the incoming leaders doing their best to decrease the unemployment rate in this area," Cele said.
Cele was confident that the ANC would once again win the election for Ward 9.
"We would like to see young people in high positions in the municipality. Let the older ones rest now. Many elders understand what we are facing. But I’m hoping that if young people are in the municipal structures, we will overcome every problem we face in this area," he said.
The DA and IFP have also been on the campaign trail in the province.
DA KZN leader Francois Rodgers urged residents who had not registered to make use of the last day of voter registration to do so.
"The Democratic Alliance in KZN urges all non-registered voters to use today as their final opportunity to register before 5pm. This will give you the right to vote on the November 1 for a party that cares, for a party that gets things done. That is the DA," he said.
Rodgers also said he hoped that the Electoral Commission's electronic registration system was fixed after a "disastrous start to the registration weekend yesterday".
The commission's electronic system experienced glitches on Saturday, according to registration officials at some stations across the eThekwini region.
Some officials manually registered voters, while some turned away voters that wanted to register, Rodgers explained.
On Saturday, IFP national leader Velenkosini Hlabisa said his party had adopted a targeted approach towards the local elections, and wanted to reclaim certain wards from the ANC.
"Every time we make a promise to the people of South Africa, we keep our promise. The IFP is not afraid to rectify a mistake if we have made one," Hlabisa said, speaking in Ntuzuma (Ward 38), north of Durban.
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