Misery in the midst of plenty
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Friday September 23, 2016 16:28
For many underprivileged people, the mild winter was a relief, as their meagre possessions meant they stayed generally warm through the season. Temperatures did not plummet as deep as they did in the winter of 2015 and the season itself was shorter.
With the recent announcement of stronger rains expected this summer, that relief will turn to sorrow with leaky corrugated roofs and the attendant nuisance that is mosquitoes.
Many residents of the glittering and fast growing capital live in a dichotomy that they are painfully aware of. Leafy suburbs with lofty structures and manicured lawns co-exist, sometimes across the road, from grinding poverty and homelessness where up to five families share a single rickety structure and a pit latrine.
Extension 3 is located in the heart of Gaborone. To the casual glance, this location may seem like a place for the rich but a dirty and disheartening secret lies. Located just a few yards from the capital city’s Main Mall are old BHC flats, with some servants’ quarters, which some people have opted to squat in or ‘rent’.
These servants’ quarters are housing families of more than three people each, in squashed and squalid conditions, which will only be worsened by the coming rains.
In an interview, Kedisaletse Mogoma (not her real name) said she has been staying in her ‘apartment’ for so long that she had lost track of time.
“I started staying here working as a maid. Even though I was not earning enough, it was better than staying in the village. At the time I thought I had hit the jackpot because I was given ‘free’ accommodation and food. I didn’t pay water or electricity bills,” she said.
Mogoma said since her bosses did not mind her staying with her extended family, the servants’ quarter appeared to be the best solution of cutting costs. Things changed after water supply was cut to the servants’ quarters. She explained that at first her masters provided them with water until they started complaining that the bills were high. They started hustling for water to do laundry, cook and bath.
She said sometimes they would ask for water from their neighbours or steal it from the near-by parks.
She said later her bosses relocated back to their country and things took a different turn. They were struck by poverty. Her efforts to find another job were futile and as a result she found herself stuck in the servants’ quarters.
“We all know that life in Gaborone is not easy. There are no jobs more especially for a person like me who has no qualifications. I had piece jobs in cleaning companies but I still couldn’t afford to relocate to a better place, as the rent in this city is too expensive,” she said.
Mogoma said she had not bothered to approach any government or city council structure for assistance, as she expected to be dismissed due to her age.
Even if she had approached the city council, there is no guarantee that she would have been assisted, as the local authority struggles to finance its growing population of underprivileged people.
Gaborone City Council is helping 1,719 beneficiaries under different social safety programmes. This figure includes 242 destitute persons, 1,000 orphan children, 381 needy students, 56 children in need of care and 40 Community Home Based care patients.
GCC has also registered 1,113 people with disabilities and registration and capturing of clients is still on going.
Between April and June 2016, 112 people with disabilities were assessed and 73 of them were recommended for cash allowance while 39 were rejected. A total of 241 people with disabilities are now receiving cash allowance since the programme started at the beginning of August last year.
Neo Serurubele (33) said she started staying at the ‘flats’ in 2003 after failing her junior certificate. She secured a job as a maid like Mogoma so that she could take care of her mother and siblings. However, Serurubele has since lost the job and is currently working in Ipelegeng to make a living. The young woman has also experienced the strife brought about by the water cut and says it has heightened the health hazards in an already squalid area.
“We are glad that summer is just round the corner because winter seasons are unbearable for us. Summer is better because we can bath with cold water and do not have to wear too many blankets at night,” she added.
The weight of Gaborone’s accommodation and poverty crisis is on the shoulders of its young mayor, Kagiso Thutlwe.
Thutlwe vowed to eradicate poverty and HIV when he became mayor and the two areas remain of focus to him.
Thutlwe said there are no squatters in Gaborone.
“What is there is poor habitation, where, five or more people sleep in a single room. This is common in locations such as Old Naledi where people either live in shacks or poorly structured and uninhabitable structures.
“Such people cannot access sewerage and therefore you find up to 40 people sharing a pit latrine, which poses a threat to their health,” he said.
Thutlwe said the council is giving such residents funds to connect to sewerage lines, up to P30,000.
He added that the council is working with the Ministry of Lands and Housing in developing a policy that will regulate landlords to develop their houses so that tenants access good facilities and enjoy healthy living.
“The policy will also regulate overcrowding. The areas most affected by this are Bontleng, Old Naledi, Extension 16, Gaborone West Phase 1 and Tsholofelo.
“The only way to combat this problem is if Batswana are given permanent solutions such as permanent jobs and better salaries to uplift their lives.
“The duty of a leader who cares about his people is to see that their lives are uplifted to better lives. I work well with the business community such as Choppies Group to see that those who are less privileged are uplifted,” he said.