Aberdeen mom risks her health to feed her children
As SA gears up to mark 30 years of democracy, our team hit the road to assess the good, the bad and the ugly of service delivery in parts of the Eastern Cape over the last three decades
An Aberdeen mother’s lungs are taking strain.
She has no choice but to cook over an open fire in her modest one-bedroom home in the small Karoo town to feed her four young children.
It is a struggle as she tries not to inhale the smoke which, over a prolonged time, has caused her to cough incessantly.
But with no electricity, Sussie Galant, 34, masks her discomfort to ensure her children do not go to bed hungry.
The SA Human Rights Commission fears the family’s lack of access to a basic service — in this case electricity — might constitute a human rights violation.
“What else can I do? I need to put food on the table, I have kids to feed,” Galant said.
The Lotusville resident said if she put the pot outside to cook the food, it got stolen — or neighbours would complain about the smoke.
While cooking, Galant removes two bricks from the wall for the smoke to escape, inadvertently inviting a cold breeze to sweep through their tiny home at night.
“Rather that than not being able to feed my kids,” Galant said, breaking into a coughing fit as she slaved over a pot of potatoes, the smoke swirling around her.
The inner walls of the house she has been living in for the past two years are blackened from the ash.
Throughout this period, there has been no electricity.
Galant said installing a gas oven was not feasible due to the high cost of gas, and an electrical oven was not an option either because there was no electricity available.
“I don’t have electricity because the municipality doesn’t give me electricity,” Galant said.
“They’re not fixing the meter and the supply is completely cut off, and it’s not because we owe them money.
“I have reported it time and again but nothing is done.”
Dr Beyers Naudé Local municipality, which oversees Aberdeen, said it was not responsible for providing electricity to residents in Lotusville, as their supply came from Eskom.
But mayor Willem Safers said he had an open-door policy
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Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena did not respond to questions by the time of publication.
Galant said she needed electricity and did not mind where it came from.
“At night or during the early morning hours when I need to get the kids ready for school I need to light candles or light the fire again just to create some sort of light,” she said.
“It’s difficult and sometimes I don’t have candles.”
Also living with Galant is a lodger, David Booysen, 25, who
‘What else can I do? I need to put food on the table, I have kids to feed’
said he lost his job during the Covid-19 pandemic and had been unable to secure employment since.
“It’s difficult for me. There are no jobs in this town, no matter how hard I try to find one,” he said.
“Before the pandemic, I used to work on a farm, but I lost it all.
“I am willing to do anything just to put bread on the table. I’m not asking for much.”
SA Human Rights Commission Eastern Cape manager Dr Eileen Carter said it would look into Galant’s predicament.
“Access to basic services is crucial for members of the community to exercise their socioeconomic rights,” she said.
“In view thereof, this may constitute a violation.
“However, if we can get the details of the complainant we will investigate.”