DURBAN - WHILE the local government elections are around the corner, not every citizen is looking forward to them, especially residents from poverty-stricken communities.
With almost three decades of every South African being granted the right to vote, not much has changed for some communities whose lives appear to be moving backwards.
Lindiwe Hadebe, 42, a Kennedy Road informal settlement resident, felt that the system has failed her and her children, and said voting was pointless.
“I do not have an identity document because I have been a victim of numerous fires in the shacks we live in. My children also do not have birth certificates. Had the government been truly for the people, I would have not been living in a shack that risked my life and my children’s lives,” said Hadebe.
She said she has voted in the past and also applied for an RDP house on several occasions but has not had any luck. She is unemployed and applied for a Social Relief of Distress grant when it was first introduced last year, and again last month when it was reinstated. However, she has never received it.
“I do not see the point of voting anymore. Even if I could, I would not. It feels like we are doomed. Nobody is coming to our rescue. We do not even have the R140 to make new IDs. How on earth are we supposed to change our lives?”
Hadebe was again a fire victim when a blaze was reportedly started by a candle in the early hours of Saturday.
“The eThekwini Municipality was informed about the fire at 5.05am. Two teams were dispatched immediately to extinguish the fire. Unfortunately, our fire hose reels were cut by the community and one firefighter was assaulted,” said eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela.
Mayisela said they suspected the fire was intentional and they had contacted the metro police and the SAPS because they feared for their teams’ safety.
“Some 483 structures burnt, 781 people were displaced, inclusive of 646 adults and 135 children. These numbers could be amended upward or downward once the report is scrutinised for accuracy,” said Mayisela.
He said the affected people immediately occupied the “condemned” flats across the road.
“The flats have not been finished since they were built two years ago. It is only now that we are seeing movement because we are heading to elections. The government should make it a point that they hear from us, the people, if they want us to vote,” said Kennedy Road resident Phiwokwakhe Mchunu, 49.
Busisiwe Duma, 69, a Kennedy Road resident for about three years, felt helpless.
“I am all alone here. I have been working as a domestic worker for a family in Westville. I was dismissed from work without compensation. Everything I had was burnt down. We have no food and no shelter. We sleep in the community hall that is cold and not fit for human habitation,” said Duma.
Regarding the upcoming elections, she said she would encourage others to vote but she would not vote because the government had not changed her life.
Also, she lost everything in the fire, including her ID, so she would not be able to vote.
Ward councillor Hassan Haniff said he contacted disaster management to assist when the fire occurred. He said about 400 to 500 shacks were affected by the blaze.
He planned to visit Kennedy Road residents on Monday with the municipality’s Housing Department.
“I am working on assisting the community. Building materials will be supplied this afternoon (Monday) or tomorrow (Wednesday) morning, according to the Housing Department,” added Haniff.
Mayisela said that temporary relief in the form of meals, blankets and mattresses had been arranged.
“The relevant department has been sensitised and will assist with procurement of building materials.”
Zandile Nsibande, shack dwellers movement Abahlali baseMjondolo's health and social development co-ordinator, said they were yet to assess the situation. They had a meeting on Monday with some of their sponsors to discuss a solution.
Commenting on the flats, Nsibande said they had applied for RDP houses for people in 1999 and they were told that senior citizens would be the first to get the flats, but the flats had still not been finished.
“All we can do now is push for the (municipality’s) Disaster Management team to bring relief.”
Daily News