WATCH | News24 On The Road: South Africans remain hopeful despite hurdles ahead of 2024 elections

• News24’s On The Road project saw a team of journalists visiting more than 20 towns in 30 days. 
• The nationwide tour provided insight into the despair and determination of citizens ahead of the 2024 election.
• News24’s Manifesto Meter elections tool compares political party manifestos. Read more here.

Ahead of the 2024 election on Wednesday, a team of News24 journalists spent 30 days travelling to towns across South Africa, relaying residents’ hopes and dreams, fears and frustrations.

Despondency and determination, in equal measure, define communities across the country. 

Dejected by years of broken promises, some residents have decided to vote beyond past party loyalties.

Meanwhile, others have put their staunch political differences aside to revive towns decimated by bad governance. 

Grievances around everyday service delivery issues, especially the lack of running water and electricity outages, were encountered at every turn.

In Vryburg, North West, residents blame a chronic lack of water on government corruption intended to enrich politically connected tenderpreneurs. 

READ | ON THE ROAD | South Africans are desperate for change – but are political parties listening?

In Moutse, near Groblersdal in Limpopo, some residents still lack running water 30 years after the dawn of democracy.

In Beaufort West, in the Western Cape, a political melting pot, a neighbourhood watch group has put party loyalties aside to protect the town.

Crime and unemployment, especially among the youth, were also recurring themes that will likely be at the forefront of people’s minds when they vote. 

Community action to halt the downward spiral of towns across South Africa can be found in the xenophobia-busting efforts of Bertha Chiguvare in Musina and the litter clean-up project led by Penny Rice in Knysna. Where government has failed, communities are trying to pick up the slack. 

On The Road uncovered South African stories across the socioeconomic spectrum, where a hunger for change in the living conditions of most will influence the election’s outcome.