Despair, anger and a sense of rejection were written on the faces of Emfuleni residents, south of Johannesburg, when Sowetan canvassed their hopes for the new administration taking over the municipality after the November 1 elections.

So deep was the despair that when Sowetan interacted with some of the residents, at the sound of the words elections and Emfuleni, they ended the conversation, arguing “it makes no difference”...