Work cry from ‘valley of jobless’
Land would be useless – we need to feed our children first, say residents
KAMOHELO Phatedi reminisces about the days when dozens of buses travelled across the West Rand, collecting people to work on the mines in the area. Workers from Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Swaziland flocked to the area.
“The West Rand was booming. People had jobs. There was hope,” he laments.
At the time, Phatedi was a junior engineer at a prominent rail company. With the advent of democracy, he believed he would climb the ladder to become one of the country’s top engineers.
He worked hard, moving from one company to the next until he became a senior engineer.
But he is despondent about the potential for further success in South Africa. Many of his colleagues were retrenched and plunged into a life of poverty and struggle, he says.
He is the sole breadwinner in his family and looks after his retired father, his wife and children in Rietvallei, a township in Mogale City, Krugersdorp.
“Companies are shutting. I have seen people lose jobs. Many of my former colleagues are frustrated. I am also scared of losing my job. The ongoing load shedding is going to make things worse. Companies won’t make any profit and will be forced to retrench.”
He argues that political parties are “detached” from the lived realities of citizens.
“They are promising unemployed people land. Where is the sense in that? What must unemployed people do with land?
“They are going to sell it. Not because they are stupid. Our people here in Rietvallei are hungry. There are families that go to bed hungry. Do politicians think land is going to change anything?
As he speaks, members of the EFF, wearing red shirts with the slogan “Our land and jobs now” pass by, distributing pamphlets. Some in the community were reluctant to listen to them.
With its mix of RDP homes and shacks, Rietvallei mirrors a typical township. Young people loiter on the streets during the day – informal car mechanics, welders and hawkers, all trying to make ends meet.
Like many residents here, Christopher Molepe has struggled to find a job. The ANC, he believes, should not follow the EFF’S land campaign but should instead prioritise jobs.
“We just need a place we can call home, and a job. When we have money, we can buy the land. It’s not like we want things for free. Land would be useless to us now. We need to feed our children first. If you want to see poverty, come to Rietvallei.”
Here, many children are malnourished and the elderly are sickly because of a poor diet, he says. “It is sad that politicians continue to speak as if they represent us. They are speaking for themselves.”
Molepe tells how his sister and others have been on a waiting list for RDP houses since 2010. “Every time houses are completed, they are occupied by people who are connected. We suspect officials are bribed. It means if you are not connected or don’t have money to pay a bribe, you will not get a house. They must deal with corruption in the allocation of houses.”
Another resident, Tsietsie Maladu, said local contractors hired foreigners for “cheap” labour. “There has been a lot of construction work in the area, but we don’t get these jobs. The government must protect our jobs.” A CAPE Town woman has been trying to open a case against a man she alleges has been stalking her online.
Gail Anderson* claimed that a man from the US has been stalking her online for close to a year.
She used to post videos on Youtube and said the stalking began with some comments.
“I used to make dance videos, and they’re so old now they don’t usually see any traffic. But he happened across one and ever since he’s been leaving messages that are insulting (and) maybe threatening,” she said.
“He deletes his Youtube comments a few minutes after posting them, so I can’t report the comments. I only have the e-mail notifications when I thought to keep them,” Anderson explained.
She went to Fish Hoek police station to find out what could be done, but no criminal charge was laid.
Lawyer William Booth said the behaviour could be considered harassment.
“For it to be harassment there do not have to be any threats or derogatory remarks. It just has be consistent and over a long period of time,” Booth said.
Anderson said the stress and fear had taken their toll on her.
“Every time I get a new message notification on my phone I’m dreading it’s him,” she said.
*Not her real name.
| CALYN MONERON