Help struggling pensioner bury daughter
THE family of the late Bongeka Mhlakaza, 42, who was electrocuted, is appealing to the public to assist with transportation costs to the Eastern Cape, where she is set to be buried this weekend.
The mother of five children, aged 25, 22, 17, 7 and 3, lived in the overcrowded informal settlement called Siyahlala in Dunoon. She died on Thursday while trying to reconnect her illegal electricity cable, as she needed to bathe her children before leaving for work in the morning.
Her mother, Bukiwe Tonga, said that her family had lived in Siyahlala since 1998 and that Mhlakaza was the sole breadwinner.
“I’m a pensioner but I didn’t receive it (pension grant) last month,” she said.
Tonga, who lives in a one-room shack, said that Mhlakaza had left her to take care of five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren who had no birth certificates. “I have a great-grandchild who is 10 years old and has never been to school.
“I collect and sell scrap for a living and I can’t even afford to bury my daughter. My sister said she would ask the bank for a loan to cover the funeral but I don’t even know how we will get to the Eastern Cape.
“Why didn’t God take me? I have no means of feeding these children. We have not had anything to eat even now. I really don’t know what I did to deserve such pain,” she said.
Community activist Meisie Makuwa said: “It’s painful and we are tired of still having to bury people who die because of electrocution, especially after so many years of sitting in mediations with the City.
“We had over 3 000 shacks here but now it’s most probably more than 6 000, with no basic services.
“Mhlakaza is the fourth person to die from electrocution since December. Just last week a five-year-old died under the very same circumstances.
“All our people need is basic services, proper electricity, toilets, and water. They have been saying that the land belongs to Transnet but what of the people who are living like this here and now?” she asked.
Mayco member for human settlements Malusi Booi said: “This is not City-owned land. This is a long-standing issue that the national and provincial governments have been involved in. It is also the subject of court processes which are under way.
“The continued unlawful occupation of the remainder of the rail reserve is derailing all plans from the City and Transnet to find a solution in terms of the ongoing legal process. The number of occupants is ever-increasing, meaning that we are working with a moving target.”
Transnet said it would respond in due course.
Anyone who can assist Mhlakaza’s family can contact Meisie Makuwa on 073 624 3786.