The bins get emptied ahead of voting day, but will Pravin and Andre keep the light on?

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Thursday.

The latest wildcat strike by Durban Solid Waste is over — for now — and the vans are out super early to pick up two weeks of accumulated rubbish.

This is good. 

The pile of garbage outside the bowling club — my nearest voting station — was starting to fester, and might have been a bit of a turn-off for ward 33’s electorate by the time Monday comes around.

Despite the long-waited refuse removal, the ward 33 WhatsApp group is still wilding, with howls of indignation from the locals about the rubbish in the streets.

There’s four days to go until South Africa’s 11th election since 1994.

Four sleeps until I make my X and I — like many of my compatriots — remain in the dark.

Not just about whether the Tembisa 10 ever existed — Wednesday’s “press briefing” provided no clarity about this — but also about whether Eskom lahnee Andre de Ruyter has placed us on level four, three or two of load-shedding. 

I was shocked to learn that Eskom’s Misery Twins — De Ruyter and Eskom chief operating officer, Jan Oberholzer — actually exist, unlike their Tembisa counterparts.

Unless the footage of the Silver Foxes together was doctored.

Up until now, I thought they were the same guy, doubling up in both roles to draw two salaries from the power entity; punishing us and the public purse because we called him a racist.

My bad.

Then again, all white people look the same. 

The briefing by the lahnee’s lahnee, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, on Wednesday evening didn’t shed much light on whether we will have power on voting day.

PG mumbled a lot, an indication that neither he nor Andre know whether they can keep the lights on, but don’t have the guts to admit it.

It’s our 11th election, given that the previous polls excluded the vast majority of South Africa’s population and were only aimed at perpetuating apartheid and white supremacist rule in one way or another.

I didn’t vote before 1994 — except in union elections and ANC branch meetings.

I figured voting in whites only elections would be like going to the army, so I didn’t. 

It made sense then.

Still does.

It’s also something I remind myself of every time I don’t feel like voting.