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From Party Politics to Service Delivery to the Politics of the Poor

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From Party Politics to Service Delivery to the Politics of the Poor

Philani Zungu

I hope that one day it will be realised by our government officials how much betrayal they have served to the floors on which they stand and where they belong. It is very sad that our politicians forget that their power started with people like us, people like the red shirts. Their silk suits come from older struggles, from other people struggling then like we do now, in the yellow shirts of the UDF and the unions.

When they were coming into power they told us that the only colour that mattered was the colour of the skin. But the black men in silk suits do not work for us. They work for the rich – black and white. They say that they are working to give us service delivery. They are really working to deliver us to the rich – to smash our informal shacks and either leave us homeless or dump us in formal jondolos in the bush. It is the colour of the heart that matters. In our struggle we have learnt that people of different skin colours have red hearts. It is the colour of the heart that matters.

Freedom is the equalisation of all people. All people need the same respect and all people need what is necessary for a proper life – some land, a house, water, electricity, access to good education and doctors, police and courts that work for the people, the chance for proper work and support for the young, the old and the sick.

It is very sad that the people we trusted the most, the people we gave a mandate to secure our freedom, seem not to understand what is freedom. They understood quite well in the struggle but now they no longer understand. It is quite that the struggle is not over. We cannot just wait for service delivery. We are in a second phase of struggle. Older struggles put our people in the silk suits. Now our struggle, the second phase of struggle, has to force the men in silk suits to work for the poor and not the rich.

In the first struggle, when there was no freedom at all, people did not accept to be silent victims. People did not compromise. They were brave enough to put their lives at risk. Many people had so much faith that they gave up their lives to invest them in the new generation that would live in a free country.

Now that we have some freedoms in law but no full freedom in reality, now that there is no better life for all, now that the government leaves shack dwellers to burn in the fires, beats us when we march and smashes up our homes and either leaves us homeless or dumps in formal jondolos in the bush why should we be silent? Why does the Municipality of eThekwini expect Abahlali baseMjondolo to remain silent? Why are we expected to have unlimited patience while we are being attacked because ‘service delivery is coming’? Why are Abahlali baseMjondolo victimised when we claim back our humanity and the rights that we are promised with our citizenship? Why are we not allowed to work with academics at the university? Why are academics at the university not allowed to work with the poor?

The answer is clear. This democracy is not for us. We must stay silent so that this truth can be kept hidden. This democracy is for the rich who will build and then enjoy themselves at uShaka, King Senzagakhona Stadium and King Shaka Airport. We will only go to these places to protect and clean up for the rich.

Today Fazel Khan, a sociologist at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), is facing charges for speaking to the media. But it is very clear to Abahlali baseMjondolo that the intention behind these charges is to get rid of Fazel from the university. He must go because he has broken the rules. With other academics, academics who are already gone from the University, he has spoken to the poor instead of for the poor. He has worked with the poor instead of with the rich in the name of the poor. Abahlali already know what the outcome of Fazel’s case will be. His dismissal is the main objective of the university bosses right now.

For a long time we have heard rumours from various people that eThekwini City Manager, Mike Sutcliffe, has been boasting that he has instructed the university to get rid of Fazel Khan and Richard Pithouse. Last year the Mercury reported that the University Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Makgoba, had told Fazel that Mayor Obed Mlaba had instructed him to ‘act against academics working with Abahlali.’ It seems that this is now being accomplished with the charges against Fazel.

The people in power are fighting against the poor instead of serving the poor. Because the poor still exist in unfreedom it is clear that people in power are fighting against freedom.

U-Umhlengi Khumalo Akasekho

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U-Umhlengi Khumalo Akasekho

NgoLwesihlanu olwedlule, kwasha imizi engu 16 ezakhiweni eziku Kennedy Road
eThekwini. Umfana ononyaka owodwa igama lakhe lingu Mhlengi Khumalo washa kabi kakhulu wagcina ngokushona ngoMgqibelo ebusuku. Lesi kwakuyisigameko sesithathu esihlasimulisa umzimba ukuthui sehle kulenyanga. Umlilo waqala emva kokuba ikhandlela lawa phansi, kwase kokheleka umlilo. Kuze kwaba ngunyaka ka 2001, ama-metre kagesi efakwa ezakhiweni. Ukuze umuntu athole ugesi, kwakufanele akhokhe imali engu R350 nokuze ukwazi ukubeka udaba lwakho ndlela thile.

Ngokusho kuka Sbu Zikode, ” Kwakuya ngokuthi ngubani ofaka isicelo. Uma ubukeka njengomuntu ongazi lutho ngenxa yokungasazi isiNgisi, wawuvele utshelwe ukuthi linda phandle.” UMetro wase Thekwini usutshele umphakathi wase Kennedy Road ukuthi kunenqubo entsha ethi ” ungabe usafakwa ugesi ezakhiweni” Abantu abangaphezu kuka 70 abanamarisithi ashoyo ukuthi bakhokhela ukufakelwa ugesi, ababuyiselwanga izimali zabo abasebezikhokhile kanti abafakelwanga ugesi. Ukuba ukufakelwa kukagesi kulendawo akuzange kumiswe, ngabe lemililo kanye nokushona kukaMhlengi Khumalo ngabe kwanqandeka.

Sekunesikhathi eside umphakathi wase Kennedy Road uvuke umbajazana. Lokhu kusukela ngo March 19 kulonyaka ngesikhathi abantu abangu 750 bevimba ukuhamba kwezimoto ku N2, futhi bebhekene ngeziqu zamehlo namaphoyiysa abhekene nodlame isikhathi esingamahora amane (4). Kuloludlame, kwaboshwa abantu abangu 14. NgoMsombuluko olandelayo abantu bomphakathi wendawo bamashela ekamu lamaphoyisa eSydenham lapho kwakuboshwe khona abantu abangu 14. Umpahakathi wawuthi mabakhululwe okungenjalo umphakathi wonke wendawo mawuvalelwe ezitokisini ngoba uma “beyizigebengu, kusho ukuthi wonke umphakathi uyizigebengu.” Imashi yomphakathi yahlakazwa ngezinja, isisi esikhalisa izinyembezi bebuye bashawe futhi.

Isizathi sokuvimba u-N2 sisobala. Umphakathi wawulokhu uthenjiswa, emva kweminyaka, ukuthi umhlaba omncane eduzane endaweni eku-Elf Road uzokhululwa ukuze kwakhelwe abantu izindlu. Ikomiti lezentuthuko yomphakathi wakuKennedy Road, wawulokhu ubambe izingxokxo mayelana nokuthuthukiswa kwalomhlaba ukuze kwakhelwe abantu izindlu. Ngaphandle kwesixwayiso noma incazelo, baqala ogandaganda ukumba umhlaba. Idlanzana labantu lanikela kulendawo ukuyobona ukuthi ngabe kwenzekani, bafika bathola okukhulu ukushaqeka ukuthi esikhundleni sesindlu zomphakathi, ogandaganda babemba isiza sefemu yokukhiqiza izitini, okutholakala ukuthi lenkampani eyayimba yayixhumene nekhansela londawo. Umphakathi wendawo wazwakalisa ilaka lawo kulaba ababemba, wase njalo usuma umsebenzi. ” Ngosuku olulandelayo, amadoda ayesebenza kelendawo afika namaphoyisa kanye nabombutho wezempi ukuzobuza ukuthi ubani omise umsebenzi wokumba. NgoMgqibelo ekuseni, abantu basivusa. Basithatha basiyisa lapho ukuyothola !
ukuthi kwenzekani. Kwanqunywa usuku lomhlangano nomnikazi wefemu eyakha izitini kanye nekhansela lendawo, kodwa abazange baze bafike. Akubanga khona khansela , noma ungqonqgoshe noma abasebenzi befemu yezitini, akubanga khona namunye umuntu. Kwakungekho ukulwa. Kwasekutheleka amaphoyisa. Lase lifona-ke ikhansela. Ikhansela lathi emaphoyiseni: “Lababantu bayizigebengu, babopheni.”

Ukuvalwa kwemigwaqo kwalandelwa imashi eyayisemthethweni. Yayithanyelwe ngabantu abangu 3000, ngomhlaka 13 May. Lombhikisho wawenzelwe ukuba kutshenwe ikhansela lendawo uJacoob Baig ukuthi malishiye phansi umsebenzi, nanokuthi kudedelwe umhlaba futhi kuqhutshekwe nokwakhiwa kwezindlu. Ikhansela laphendula kulokhu ngokuba lithumele abantu bazokhuluma nopmhakathi. Leliqembu labamele ikhansela lafike lathethisa umphakathi, lafuna futhi nokwazi ukuthi ngubani ngempela ophehla lesisihlava. U-Zikode wavuma ukuthi ukhona ngempela okuyena ophehla lesisihlava, wathi ubusika. Ubusika buyeza, futhi busho ukuthi kuzosha izakhiwo abahlala kuzo. Imashi yesibili esemthethwei yahlelwa.

Isekela lomphathi weTheku, u Mnumzane Derek Naidoo wafika “ukuzothicha imashi.” U-Mnumzane Naidoo waveza indlela yokuba imashi ingenziwa: Waveza ukuthi uMkhandlu weTheku wakhe izindlu zangases zibe yingxenye yezakhiwo. Futhi lezizakhiwo zizobasezandleni zabaholi. Kwabekwa ukuthi uma umuntu efuna ukuchama uyokhokha u-10cents, kanti uma efuna ukukaka uyokhokha u-20 cents, kodwa akekho owayazi kahle. Lemali okwakuzongenwa ngayo kulezizindlu zangasese yayizosetshenziswa ekukhokheleni ozoyi hlanza futhi isetshenziswe ekunakekeleni izakhiwo uma zidinga ukulungswa.

Izindlu zangasese zomgodi(pitlatrines) akuyona into encane lapha Kennedy Road. Lezizindlu zangasese ezingu 147 zagcinwa ukukhucululwa eminyakeni engu 5 eyedlule. Abahlali balapha abangu 6000 besebesebenzisa izindlu zangasese ezithwalwayo ezingu 6 futhi ezisesimweni esibi kakhulu. Kodwa-ke lokhu kwakungekuhle neze. U-Mnumzane Naidoo wafakwa inseleleo mayelana nomhlaba kanye nezindlu ezazithenjisiwe. U-Mnumzane Naidoo watshela umphakathi ukuthi indawo ababehleli kuyo yase ithathwa njengendawo edinga ukukhucululwa futhi engekho esimweni esimukelekayo, nanokuthi “uMkhandlu weTheku wase unqume ukuthi bazosuswa bayiswe ekugcineni noma ngaphandle kwe Theku.”

U-Mnumzane Naidoo wahlatshwa kakhulu ngalokhu ayekutshela umphakathi. Siyosebenzakuphi? Abantwana bethu bazofunda kuphi? Imiphi imitholampilo ekhona ? Siyohlala kanjani? U-Mnumzane Naido watshelwa ukuthi azikho izingqalazizinda emaphandleni. U-Mnumzane Naidoo wavumelana nabo kulokhu wase ebeka ukuthi abantu kufanele bazi ukuthi kuyabiza kakhulu ukwakha lapho, nanokuthi intuthuko igxiliswe endaweni engu 25 kilometres ukusuka enkabeni emaphakathi neTheku. Umphakathi waphendula ngokuthi loku okushiwo ngu Mnumzane Naidoo kuyefana nobandlululo lapho abantu babephushelwa ngaphandle kwedolobha. U-Mnumzane Naidoo waphendula ngokuthi uma lokhu bengakuthandi “babengaya kwi Nkantolo Yezomthetho Sisekelo.” U-Mnumzane Naidoo wayelokhu egcizelela ukuthi awukhu umhlaba. U-Mnumzane Cosmos Bhengu waveza ukuthi empeleni kunomhlaba omningi kakhulu khona eduzane. Waveza izibonelelo ngalokhu. U-Mnumzane Naidoo waveza ukuthi lomhlaba ngowenkampani yangasese ebizwa ngokuthi u-Moreland. I-Morel!
and, okuyinkampani enkulu kakhulu ephethe imihlaba lapha e-Thekwini, ingumniniyo womhlaba okutshalwe kuwo umoba endaweni esenyakatho neTheku.

Lemihlaba yatholakala ngokunqoba ngesikhathi sempi ka 1906 phakathi kwamaNgisi nesizwe samaZulu, lapho kwabulawa khona abantu abaningi. Lemihlaba yabuye yasetshenzwa kakhulu yisizwe samaNdiya esasilandwe phesheya ukuzotshala umoba. Lemihlaba namhlanje isiyakhiwe imizi yezicebi, amahovisi abizayo kanye nezitolo ezibheke olwandle. U-Sbu Zikode wamemezela ukuthi umhlangano usuyavalwa, wase ethembisa ukuthi ” Sizothumela izinkulungwane ezitaladini.” Ngomhlaka 14 September, izinkulungwane ezingu 5000 zamasha zaya kwi khansela lendawo.

Lokhu kungumbejazana wabantu asebengasanakiwe. Ukhongolse (ANC) uhlale ezigqaja futhi ekhuphula amandla akhe ngokuthi konke akwenzayo, ukwenzela uquqaba oluntulayo. Lezizinkulumo akazenzi nje emoyeni, kodwa kunezithembiso eziphathekayo azenze emiphakathini ethile. Ngomhlaka 9 November 1993, ukhongolose wakhipha isitatimende lapho ayehlaba khona “inkinga enkulu mayelana nezindlu eSouth Africa” njengento ayibeka emahlombe ka Hulumeni we National Party kanye nalabo ayehambisana nabo.” Isitatimende saqhubeka sathi izimo zokuphila ezakhiweni “azizinhle” neze. Waqhubeka uKhongole wathi: Abantu abahlala ezakhiweni kumele basukume bame ngezinyawo bakhulume ngempilo abayiphila kulezizindawo! ” Izinkinga zakho, Izinkinga zami. Ikhambi lakho, Ikhambi lami, ” kusho President Mandela. Indawo yase Kennedy Road yathintwa kulezizitatimende.

Ngomhlaka June 4, 1999, uKhongolose wamukela ukunqoba kwabo okhethweni lwezifundazwe ngomhlangano nabamaphephandaba. Bathembisa ukuthi into yokuqala ezinjongweni zabo “U-Khongolose uyosebenzisana nemiphakathi yakithi ekulungiseni isimo sabantu abantula kakhulu abahlala ezakhiweni njengase Kennedy Road, Elusaka nase Bhambayi.” Okhethweni olwabakhona, abahlala ku Kennedy Road bavotela uKhongolose ngokuphindiwe.

Abantu bahlala ezakhiweni ngezizathu zokufuna imisebenzi, noma bathole izindlela ezithile yokuziphilisa nanokuthi bathole ukufunda ezindaweni ezingcono, ukuthola imitholampilo nalapho bezokwazi ukuthola khona izindawo ezingcono zokungcebeleka. Noma kukhona ukuhlupheka okukhulu ezakhiweni, kodwa futhi izakhiwo ziyindawo lapho abantu bethola khona ithemba lokuphila., bathole nendlela yokuphuma ezingxakini zabo ezinzima.

U-Masipala weTheku uhlambisela ukuthi abangaphezu kuka 800 000 emphakathini weTheku ongu 3million bahlala ezakhiweni. Inqubo yeTheku ithi imizamo yokwakha ezinye izakhiwo ithathwa njengengekho emthethweni. Abantu abakha izakhiwo ezintsha bazozithola sebebhekene namacala. Kodwa akuzona izakhiwo ezintsha kuphela ezibhekene nengalo yomthetho. UMkhandlu weTheku ufuna futhi ukuvimbela abantu abahlala ezakhiweni ezindala ukuba bangazilungisi izakhiwo zabo zibe izindlu ezibhekile nezimukelekayo. U-Mkhandlu weTheku usonga , futhi uvamile ukubhidliza izakhiwo ezinwetshiweyo. Izikhulu zoMkhandlu weTheku zithi lokhu kufanele kwenziwe ngoba uma ngabe ezinye izakhiwo zilungiswa , ezingaphezu kuka 70 kuyofanele zisuswe abantu bayiswe kwenye indawo.

Noma u-Mkhandlu ungasho, kodwa kuyacaca ukuthi abazigcinanga izithembiso abazenza emphakathini, njengoku faka izidingo ezinjengo gesi, kanye namanzi, kokunye bazikhiphile ezinye izinto njengezindlu zangasese, kwezinye izakhiwo. Lesisenzo siyinkomba yokuthi bazama ukuphoqa umphakathi ukuba usuke endaweni. U-Mkhandlu weTheku uthi usuyisusile imindeni engu 7000, futhi baqonde ukwakha izindlu ezingu 400 ngenyanga ukuze bakwazi ukuqhubeka nokuyisa abantu kwezinye izindawo. Lenqubomgomo ithathwa njengenenqubekela phambili kwezinye izindawo ezisezingeni eliphezulu kodwa kunamaphuzu amabili angabhekisiswa kulokhu. Lamaphuzu ahambisana nenqubo yobandlululo.

Elokuqala elokuthi kuyacaca ukuthi kunemizamo yokuvimba abantu abantulayo ukuthi beze bazohlala edolobheni. Ngokwempela, akukho mngcele ngoba izakhiwo ezintsha ziyakhiwa nanokuthi abantu abathola imisebenzi noma bathole indlela yokuziphilisa ukusuka befika ezakhiweni bavamise ukuphuma ezakhiweni zabo bese behlalisa abanye abantu abafikayo noma abasha ezakhiweni zabo babakhokhise i-renti. Kodwa injongo yenqubo mgomo yomkhandlu ukuthi kwehliswe isibalo sabantu abantulayo abangena edolobheni bezohlala.

Okwesibili, uma kusakhiwa izindlu ezindaweni lapho bethuthelwe khona abantu, zivamise ukwakhiwa ngendlela efuze eyamalokishi ngesikhathi sobandlululo. Emicabangweni yakhe, u-Frantz Fanon wathi umhlaba noma umbuso wama “colonialists”( abamhlophe ababethatha imihlaba yabantu ngenkani futhi baphinde bababuse ngendlela engenabo ubuntu) uhlukaniswe izigceme ezimbili: indawo lapho kuhlala khona abantu bendabuko ayifani nendawo lapho kuhlala khona ababusi (colonialists). Lezizindawo zombili azifani.’ Ngokuka Fanon, lezizindawo ezimbili zihlukene ngokokuphila nokunethezeka.

Ngakho-ke, indawo yomuntu wendabuko ayihlukene nje kuphela naleyo okuhlala kuyona abamhlophe, kodwa futhi lezizindawo zithathwa njengezi ndawo ezihlala abantu abahlukene: omunye uhlanzekile, uphephile kanti futhi unomqondo ohluzekile, kanti omunye ungcolile, uyingozi kanti futhi akanawo umqondo ophusile. Ngakhoke, isikhathi sobu “colonialism” siyophela mhlazane kwaphela izindawo ezimbili ezihleli abantu abangefani edolobheni elilodwa. Loluhlelo lokuphila kumele luqedwe.

Idolobha lama “colonialists” kanye nelobandlululo laliqambeke njengendawo yesimanje kanye nendawo yabamhlophe lapho abantu abamnama babezohlungwa kahle endaweni yabo noma basuswe futhi bavinjwe. Kodwa-ke eminyakeni yawo1980, uhulumeni wobandlululo, ephethe e-Namibia, elwa nabase Cuba kanye ne MPLA e-Angola, eqeda futhi ukuvukelwa kombuso emalokishini ezweni wagcina ngokuhluleka ukushayela abantu abamnyama imigomo yokuhamba endaweni. Lapho okwakulula khona ukuthi kwenzeke, izindawo zabamhlophe zazivikelwe, kodwa abantu abamnyama babekwazi ukungena ezindaweni ezingamadolobha, badle umhlaba ngaphandle kwemvume kahulumeni bese begcina sebakhe imiphakathi ezimele, engancikene nohulumeni. Kodwa uhulumeni unezingqalazizinda angazisebenzisa ukwenza noma yini ayithandayo. Kucacile ukuthi uhulumeni ufuna ukubuyela kuleyonqubo yama “colonialists” yokwenza amadolobha abe ngawesimanje. Kodwa-ke phela, idolobha alisathathwa njengendawo yabamhlophe.

Kodwa idolobha selithathwa njengendawo yabantu abakhethekile, njengalabo abanezimali. Ngesikhathi u-Mike Sutcliffe ongumphathi weTheku enza inkulumo yakhe lapha e-University of KwaZulu Natal ngonyaka odlulile (2004), wakhombisa izithombe zezakhiwo endaweni eyayaziwa ngokuthi eyamaNdiya kuphela, futhi ehlala amaNdiya acebile e Reservoir Hills, wagcizelela ukuthi uguquko kufanele lusheshe ngoba lezizindawo okwakuthathwa ngokuthi ezamaNdiya kuphela zinezo izindawo ezinezakhiwo, kodwa zazingekho kobeLungu izindawo ezinjalo. Ngalokhu wayengaqondile ukuthi ugqugquzela ukuthi kungenwe ezindaweni kwakhiwe izakhiwo ezindaweni okwakungezaba Mhlophe kuphela.

Inkulumo yakhe yayiqonde ukuthi kufanele ezobulungiswa kuhlanganise nokuqhutshelwa phambili amagunya namalungelo abaMhlophe nasezindaweni zamaNdiya acebile. Inqubo yoMkandlu weTheku yokuzama ukuxuba idolobha uyodinga ukuba kuthathwe imihlaba enobunikazi bangasese (privately-owned)
ikakhulukazi izindawo ezinjengalezi kutshalwe khona izimoba, manje inkampani yakwaMoreland ibhidlangile yakha imizi kanokusho ebiyelelwe ukuze kungangeni muntu. Lokhu ngeke kuphela kudinge ukubanjwana ngezihluthu nongxowankulu (capiatalists). Kuyodinga futhi inseleleo eqondile ebhekiswe ekuhlukumekezekeni kubahlabali basezakhiweni, behlukunyezwa ngabaMhlophe nabaMnyama abaphila emazingeni aphezulu

Umzabalazo uyaqhubeka. Ngomhlaka 4 October 2005, abantu abangaphezulu kwenkulungwane, okucishe kube ngaphezulu noma ngaphansi kwesibalo sabantu bephelele basendaweni yase Quarry Road, bamasha bayakwi khansela lendawo, uJayraj Bachu, befuna ukuthi ashiye phansi isikhundla sakhe, kubuyiswe izindlu zangasese kubuye kutholwe indawo lapho bezokwakhelwa khona imizi maphakathi neTheku. Emva kwezinsuku ezimbili, kwabanjwa umhlanagano wezindawo ezingu 12. Lomhlangano wenzelwa ku Kennedy Road. Kwakunabamele imiphakathi yabo abangu 32: abesilisa abangu 17 kanye nabesifazane abangu 15. Bavumelana ukuthi ngeke baze bavote okhethweni oluzayo, nanokuthi bayobambana, balwe ndawonye. Indawo nendawo manje ibamba imihlangano kanye ngesonto, kuthi abamelele izindawo ngayinye ezindaweni ezingu 12 bahlangana njalo ngo Mgqibelo. Ubumbano olusha lwaqhamuka kulezizindawo. Kodwa uMhlengi Khumalo akasekho.

. Izakhiwo igama lokuhloniphisa ukuthi imijondolo.

Ayikho intando yeningi la

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Ayikho intando yeningi la

– uRichard Pithouse

Ibhaxabulwe kabi intando yeningi eThekwini ngesonto eledlule. Isiswebhu
sokuqala ingenkathi umasipala waseThekwini enqabela ikomiti lase Foreman
Road Development ukumasha.Lelikomiti belikhethelwe ukumela izakhamuzi
zasemjondolo wase Foreman Road. Lelithimba kanye nemanye amakomiti eyishumi
nanhlanu ezakhamuzi zihlanganyele kuAbahlali baseMjondolo
okungumkhukhulelangoqo wenhlangano eke yahlela ngaphambilini amamashi
abesuke eKennedy Road nase Quarry Road. Wonke lamamashi abenokuthula.
Imashi yaseForeman Road ibihlelwe uMsombuluko wangomhlaka 14 November.
Ikomiti ibisihlelile zonke izimfanelo ezidingwa abezomthetho uma kuzobakhona
imashi kusenesikhathi. Kodwa sekusele izinsuku ezintathu yenzeke imashi,
ikomiti lathola umbiko owafika ngesikhahlamezi ovela kumasipala othi imashi
“ayivunyelwe”. Zimbili izizathu ezabekwa ngokungavunyelwa kwemashi.
Esokuqala sasithi “Abaphathi basehovisi likaSobaba/leMeya alinambiko
eliwutholile ovela kwinhlangano yenu”. Esesibili sasithi “Ihovisi
likaSobaba/leMeya ngeke likwazi ukunisiza futhi akekho oyokwazi ukuhlangana
nani”. Ihovisi lomphathi wedolobha uMike Sutcliffe yilona elimelene
nokuhlela izicelo zokwenza imashi esemthethweni.

Inhlangano Yokukhuluma Ngokwenkululeko ikhiphe isitatimende esigxeka
uSutcliffe ngokunqaba ukuthi imasho ibekhona njengoku “ngahloniphi
uMthethosisekelo kanye noMthetho Olawula Ukuhlangana”. Lesisisitatimende
siqhubeke sachaza ukuthi izizathu ezikhishwe umasipala ngokunqabela lemashi
bezingekho emthethweni futhi azinasabelo.

Ngelanga okwakuhlelwe ngayo imashi cishe abantu ababalelwa kwizinkulungwane
ezintathu bahlangana emjondolo yaseForeman Road. Abantu batshelwa ukuthi
imashi yenziwe yangabikho emthethweni kwase kuhlelwa ukuthi kube khona
umhlangano emjondolo. Kodwa inqaba yabantu banquma ukuthi ngeke bamukele
ukuhlaselwe ilungelo labo ngakho-ke bazomasha ngokuthula. Lokhu kwakufana
nomlando wokubhikilisha ngokuthula ngesikhathi sombuso wengcindezi
ngaphandle kokucekela phansi imiphefumulo namo izimpahla zabanye abantu.
Abamashayo, ikakhulukazi abesimame, bahamba-ke becula benyuka umgwaqo
wobhuqu onyukayo obaphumelisa ngaphandle kwasemjondolo. Ngenkathi sebengene
kuLoon Road bahlangabezana namaphoyisa. Ngaphandle kokubaxwayisa,
abakwasigonyela bavela babasukela bababopha abanye bebashaya okwadala ukuthi
abanye balimale kanzima. Izifundiswa kanye nezintatheli zasatshiswa ngodlame
uma zike zabika ezikubonile. UCarvin Goldstone wephephandaba iMercury
wasatshiswa nguSuperintendent Glen Nayagar wase Sydenham Police Station
kwathi uRaj Patel, wasenyuvesi yaKwaZulu-Natal waphucwa ikhamera nguNayagar.

Isihluku sokuhlasela kwamaphoyisa, sithuse abaningi ezweni kanye nakulabo
abasemazweni aphesheya ngenkathi bekubona ezithombeni nakomabonakude.
Inhlangano Yokukhuluma Ngokwenkululeko ikhiphe isitatimende “igxeka
ukungahlonishwa kwamalungelo abantu abampofu okwenziwe ngumasipala
waseThekwini”. Lesisitatimende sichaze izenzo zamaphoyisa ngokuphula
umthetho ngezizathu ezimbili. Okokuqala abazange babaxwayise abantu ukuthi
bahlukane ngaphambi kokubahlaselabese kuhti okwesibili asikho isizathu
esisemthethweni ngodlame amaphoyisa alusebenzisa ngenkathi ehlasela.
Ukusabisa izintatheli nokuthathwa kwekhamera nakho futhi kwakungekho
emthethweni.

UGoldstone usekubikile ngokusemthethweni ukusatshiswa kwakhe nguNayagar.
UPatel, kanye noSystem Cele, owesifazane oneminyaka eyishumi
nesishagalolunye owaphulwa amazinyo angaphambili ngenkathi kuhlasela
amaphoyisa, bazamile , ngaphandle kokuphumelela ukubika ngokusemthethweni
ne-Internal Complaints Directorate (ICD). Lenhlangano okubikwa kuyona
ukungaziphathi kahle kwamaphoyisa bafuna kuqala inamba yecala ngaphambi
kokuba baseshe isikhalo. Kodwa amaphoyisa anqabe aphetha ukuvula icala
lokweba nokushaya ngenkathi uPatel no Cele beya kobika.

Ngenkathi amaphoyisa eshaya abantu behla ngomgwaqo oyibhuqu ongenela
emjondolo kuForeman Road omunye umuntu wamemeza wathi “Anikwazi ukwenza
lokhu kithi. Siphila kuhulumeni wentando yeningi”. Iphoyisa uSwart
waphendula wathi “Ayikho intando yeningi la”. Wayeqinisile ngempela. Izenzo
zamasebenzi bakahulumeni njengoSutcliffe noNayagar zikuveze ngokusobala
ukuthi amalungelo entando yeningi uzwe eliwanika abacebile, nabaphila kahle
kanye nezisebenzi ngeke adlulele kulabo abanhlwempu abahlala emjondolo.

Kunentando yeningi ezakhiweni eziningi zasemjondolo. Intando yeningi abantu
abazakhele yona. Intando yeningi yokuzikhethela amakomiti kanye nokuvama
kwemihlangano lapho noma ngabe ubani angakhuluma. Lentando yeningi
esisabalele isidale inhlangano yabahlali basemjondolo efuna ukuqinisekisa
ukuthi izethembiso ezenziwe kubahlali basemjondolo kumele zigcinwe. Abafuni
ukubusa ngokwezepolitiki kodwa bakhonela ukuthi kufanele kuphele ukweswela
izidingoqangi kubantu abahlala emjondolo.Kokuningi lesisimo senziwa sanzima
kakhulu ngumasipala waseThekwini ngokususa izinsiza ezithile kanye
nokwesatshiswa ngokususwa ngenkani kulezakhiwo kwabantu bayiswe emaphandleni
lapho kungenamathuba omsebenzi.

Kodwa umangabe abampofu bebemasha ngokuthula bayathukwa, bahlukumezeke futhi
bashaywe. Batshelwa ukuthi kuneqembu elicashile i ‘Third Force’ ngemuva
kwemibhikisho noma basetshenzinswa ngabantu bangaphandle. Lokhu kuchaza
ukuthi abampofu abakwzi ukuzicabangela noma ukuzenzela. Lokhu
kungubandlululo olwalusetshenziswa uhulumeni wobandlululo lapho enqaba
ukubhikisha. Iqiniso ukuthi Abahlali base Mjondolo iyinhlangano ebuswa
ngentando yeningi futhi ephethwe ngamavolontiya engaxhaswe ngazimali
eziqhamuka ngaphandle. Kodwa ukwethukwa enye into. Ukwenqatshelwa ilungelo
lakho kanye nokushaywa ngamaphoyisa okunye. Umangabe uSutcliffe noNayagar
bekhakhishelwa obala bamele abakwenzile kuyosho ukuthi intando yeningi
eThekwini ilimele. NgoMsombuluko odlule bekunjegenjwayelo koMhlanga,
Glenwood nakoKloof. Kodwa emigwaqeni yasemjondolo yaseForeman Road
kwakuchitheke igazi. Kwakungathi sisaphila ngaphansi kukaBotha noma
uMugabe.

Starting from scratch after forced removal

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Starting from scratch after forced removal
By Anna Weekes

Walter Siyacela Ndenza came to the city from rural Bizana in 1990 looking for a better life. He first rented a shack in Mayville, just outside the city but then bought a shack for R800 in Lusaka informal settlement, equally close to the city.

“Buying my own shack was some kind of progress”, Siyacela said. With the little money he earned as a casual construction labourer in the nearby suburb of Reservoir Hills, Siyacela bought two lawnmowers and sought work in the suburb cutting lawns. This is how he supported his three dependents. But when the Lusaka community was forcibly removed by the ANC Ethekwini municipality, municipal police smashed one of the lawnmowers irreparably and broke the other one, which is now under repair.

“They broke my machine when they were destroying everything else we owned,” said Siyacela. “Now I am reduced to making helicopters out of wire whereas I only did this before in winter when the demand for grass cutting was low. Not a lot of people buy these wire toys, and it takes about two days to make one. I have to pay to fix the lawnmower broken by the municipality with money I don’t have. I also have to replace the other goods that were smashed by the municipal police.”

Siyacela is one of 19 families who were forcibly removed from Lusaka informal settlement on 6th November. The shacks of the Lusaka 19 were totally demolished, the residents lost many possessions and they were not provided with alternative accommodation. For want of anywhere else to go, they rebuilt their shacks on the lawn outside their Councillor’s office. After four days living there, they were arrested for ‘trespassing’ and spent three days in jail * this despite the legal norm for first offenders on trespassing charges that they should not be held in jail but released on a warning.

Six of the Lusaka 19 are women who desperately tried to rescue a few possessions, carrying them to jail wrapped up in blankets on their backs. The men were not allowed to take anything. When charges were withdrawn in the Durban Magistrates Court, the Lusaka 19 had nowhere to go. Knowing a few people from the Kennedy Road informal settlement Abahlali base Mjondolo (Shack Dwellers Movement), the Lusaka 19 walked about 20kms to the Kennedy Road community hall, where they slept for about a week. A municipal waste truck had been at the councillor’s office during the court hearing, removing all their furniture and only some of this was returned to the Kennedy Road Hall.

The direct action of the Lusaka 19, media coverage of police brutality against a march of the Abahlali base Mjondolo the same day and pressure from university academics created some pressure on the ANC municipality. The Lusaka 19 were offered houses in Mount Moriah, a community over 30kms away from Lusaka, built under electricity pylons. The Lusaka 19 chose to accept the houses because they were houses, not shacks and because they were told by the court that they would be arrested if they returned to Lusaka or the councillor’s lawn.

Having been forcibly removed to a place where they never wanted to live, the 19 families now have many psychological and financial difficulties to overcome. Siyacela has three dogs. When his shack was smashed and he was taken to prison, there was nobody to look after the dogs for three days. If such a plight befell dogs in white South Africa, there would be a national media outcry. Luckily the dogs were okay. Two of the dogs have now moved to Mount Moriah but one refuses to come and is living on its own in Lusaka. This has placed extra stress on the family who need to return to Lusaka daily to try to persuade the dog to move to the new place.

Sonwabiso Ndenza says he is also one of Siyacela’s dependents because he is sick and can no longer work. Both men say that in Lusaka a strong social network existed and they were able to eke out some kind of meagre existence on the casual jobs they did in Reservoir Hills. “I had customers whose houses I could walk to with my lawnmower,” says Siyacela. “Now they are calling me to cut their grass and I can’t deliver. In any case I can’t take my lawnmower on two taxis to Reservoir Hills.”

There are no roads in this new section of Mount Moriah and no shops, clinics or schools anywhere in sight.

The homes in Mount Moriah have water but only for the next two years and after that, pre-paid water meters will be installed. They have no ceilings and seem to be built precariously on sites cut out of the clay hillside. Dubious, unstable washing lines come with the houses. Siyacela’s washing line fell down during the interview, all the clean clothes landing in the mud. Most of the houses have pre-paid electricity which nobody can afford. Siyacela’s house has not been fitted with electricity at all.

The housing project itself is built in a highly dubious way. Most of the money is not spent on the workers or the building materials, but is kept as profit by the contractor. The government pays the private contractor between R31 000 and R35 000 per house, although the value of the houses are under R10 000 each. The private company then outsources the building to subcontractors. The actual workers are paid virtually nothing. For every roof they put on a house, workers reportedly get paid R8. A worker would have to roof more than 20 houses in one day to earn anywhere near what constitutes a living wage * clearly an impossible task. Subcontractors are paid R60 to install plumbing in an entire house. The corruption going on here calls into question the quality of the houses themselves.

“I want the government to be compassionate because their actions have destroyed a lot of families in Lusaka” says Siyacela. “Our valuable goods were broken. Also, we tried to negotiate with the government when they told us they intended to move us. Our attempts to negotiate only left us facing a lot of intimidation. Suddenly, out of the blue, the government came in full force to smash our shacks. This is not the way to treat people. All of us have to start from scratch buying the bare essential furniture and clothes that we already had.”

“We need to be compensated because it’s just not fair that we have to buy all the stuff we had before. We were only given 30 minutes to take all our belongings out of our shack but during those 30 minutes they already started breaking our things. Others of us were at work and didn’t have a chance to rescue anything.”

Sayinela Silenge moved from Port Shepstone to Lusaka in 2002. He is fairly happy so far that he has a house in Mount Moriah, which he says is better than living in a shack. But he says “It wasn’t nice being forcibly removed. It wasn’t decent. I lost a lot of valuable things. We moved to the Councillor’s lawn after our shacks were destroyed to show we are against forced removal and we want housing. The Mayor saw us as some kind of irritant and hence decided to throw us in jail. Even though the authorities thought it was childish of us to occupy the Councillor’s garden, we made our point through this action. Before, the Mayor was just running around and not listening but now he had to talk to us.”

Sayinela’s financial situation is as precarious as the rest of those forcibly removed. He has always been unemployed but in Lusaka he, like other residents, worked casually in construction in the nearby Reservoir Hills suburb. “I still have to figure out a way to survive in Mount Moriah because there is no suburb nearby. It’s a real predicament. We are a family of three but nobody is working”.

Sayinela is very unhappy that he has been forcibly removed in the post-apartheid era. “The way we got these houses was not exciting. In fact, I am very disturbed that before we got houses, we first had to be thrown into jail. This is not logical. I don’t understand why we were arrested in the first place because the call for a house is a legitimate one. We shouldn’t be persecuted for wanting a place to live”.

Lumka Msutwana is from Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape and also moved to Lusaka in 2002 to be close to the city. “It was really nice in Lusaka because the transport to town was not as expensive as it is here. Here, taxis are scarce. I worked in Reservoir Hills as a domestic worker for about R20 per day, six days a week. After that I worked at a stall in town owned by someone else. When our shacks were destroyed, I told my boss that I was going through a hard time and would return to work in a few days. But then we got thrown into jail. After we were released, I went back to the stall but they didn’t want me anymore.”

“I am jobless now and have no prospects for jobs here. There are no people to hire me as a domestic. I’m now on my last cents and am planning to go into town and ask for work at any of the stalls so I can support my three kids. I am also without a bed because the municipal police destroyed it. It was a wreck so I left it behind. I want compensation for all the things they destroyed during the forced removal.”

There is no possibility for Lumka to go back to domestic work in Reservoir Hills because she was only paid R20 per day. The taxi fare from Mount Moriah to town is R5 and the fare from town to Reservoir Hills is R3. At R16 per day this would leave Lumka with a wage of only R4 per day. This is not even enough to buy a loaf of bread.

Public interest law organisations must support groups like the Lusaka 19 in taking up a legal case for compensation for their destroyed belongings. People living in urban squatter camps are among the most marginalised in South Africa. Yet there is a longstanding illegal practice of the municipal police (and the private security forces who often help them) to wilfully destroy each and every belonging owned by a shack dweller (including clothes!) In Mandela Park, Cape Town, evicted people have even had books and loaves of bread destroyed by municipal police.

In addition, two female members of the Lusaka 19 have been left homeless because of bureaucratic bungling between the Department of Home Affairs and the Ethekwini Municipality’s housing department. The Housing Department will not issue the single mothers with keys for their houses because they do not have identity books. The Department of Home Affairs will not issue their identity books before next February.

In the past, other Mount Moriah residents have complained about a high rate of cancer and miscarriages that they say comes from living under electricity pylons. Nobody has told the Lusaka 19 about this yet.

It is disturbing to witness how, having been left with absolutely nothing, residents are hankering after the highly exploitative and underpaid casual work they used to do in Reservoir Hills. The Lusaka 19 have been dumped into a situation of abject poverty and utter hopelessness as a result of their forced removal, which can only worsen greatly in the near future.