Saldanha, also known as Saldanha Bay, is a town up the West Coast about 110km north of Cape Town. There are several neighbouring towns such as Vredenburg and Langebaan.
Like most towns around South Africa, there’s a big gap between the rich and the poor along the West Coast. Some people say they won’t be voting because nothing much has changed since the last election.
Saldanha has a population of 28 000 people who are predominantly Coloured. Afrikaans is the dominant language spoken by 70% of the people, followed by isiXhosa and then English.
Saldanha exports iron ore to the whole of Africa and mainly to China and is able to handle ships as large as 200 000 tons of dead weight, which are also used for crude oil.
The town was once a traditional fishing town popular for its oysters and mussels.
The town of Vredenburg lies 15km away and is the administrative hub of the West Coast with a population of about 38 000 people.
There are several other fishing and holiday towns along the coast including, Langabaan which is geared very much to the tourist market.
The DA is the dominant party in the West Coast.
Saldanha and Vredenburg were rocked by violent protests at the end of 2018, where several buildings, including the Diazville Community Hall, a health clinic and a private residence, were torched.
Some angry residents say they will not be voting on Wednesday because nobody seems to be bothered by their plight.
“No I’m not going vote, we are still struggling with unemployment and the reason why I’m not going to vote because I don’t now where my vote is going we still struggling,” a resident says.
Others say they will be voting to see change, although they don’t trust the ANC because of corruption. There are those who also feel used by the DA.
“I’m definitely going to vote there’s a lot changes that need to happen; like for instance, with the Guptas and Jacob Zuma and the thing with the SASSA money about the old people. So there’s still a lot changes that need to happen,” another resident explains.
Voting day normally has a carnival atmosphere up the West Coast and in Saldanha. Wet and rainy weather is expected on Wednesday.
