BCL ex-employees refuse to vacate houses
Onalenna Kelebeile | Thursday August 10, 2017 17:01
Ex-employees were given 12 months rent free stay in BCL houses after the mine was liquidated in October last year. They have now been asked to pay a minimal rental from November up to January that will then be followed by market related rental payments in February. This, according to the liquidator is necessary as a cost recovery measure and to maintain the assets while efforts to secure potential buyers are underway.
In a heated meeting at Tebogo Primary School on Tuesday afternoon, furious ex-employees said they were not going to comply with the liquidator’s demand because since they were left in the lurch without being fully paid their dues, government must compensate them with the mine houses they are occupying.
They said they wanted the BCL issue to reach international organisations like the African Union for intervention.
The ex-employees said it was disheartening that since after the abrupt mine closure followed by empty promises that were made by the Vice President Mokgweetsi Masisi and Minister Sadique Kebonang, nobody cared to come to town and appreciate how the ex-employees survive.
They said now that it is evident that the BCL matter has become a political issue, they will fight politically so that the ruling party will have a taste of its own medicine. They said the ruling government has distanced itself from the plight of ex-mine employees.
“Which normal government will demand rental payments from unemployed people who were not even paid their packages?” asked one devastated ex-employee.
Another attendant said they seriously suspect foul play so that the electorate could relocate from the town as sabotage to some leaders.
“We are not going anywhere. We will just transfer our kids home then we remain in these houses because this is just politically motivated. We also object to the fact that the grades used to pay rentals are for working people,” said another BCL house occupant.
Some suggested delivering a petition to the Selebi-Phikwe Town Council (SPTC) at the commencement of the full council meeting at the end of this month. They added that they can only survive up to January without salaries and that they cannot afford rentals. They also said they want their retention allowances before vacating the houses.
“We are currently facing a terrible economic uncertainty; we are under duress. Therefore, we are not psychologically sound to be made to sign legally binding documents like lease agreements.
Let us seek dialogue with government before committing to contracts we cannot live up to. We must also see what the National Housing Policy says about government’s responsibility to provide shelter,” said one ex-employee.
They also suggested that government should separate BCL houses from the rest of the mine assets, buy them and give the current tenants priority to own them.
Women who also took the issue upon themselves said they were not going to budge because they demand what is due to their husbands for toiling for over three decades in the mine.
“It is regrettable that some men have signed without involving their wives. Stop doing that and leave this battle to us women. We will meet the liquidator face-to-face,” said one woman.
However, some said it is only ideal to accept the reality that the mine is closed and seek other alternatives of survival. They said refusing to comply with rental payment will not help because the money will be deducted from the retentions still withheld by the liquidator.
At the end of the well-attended meeting, a delegation was set up to meet the mayor, Molosiwa Molosiwa and subsequently the liquidator to seek extension of rent-free stay up to January. Councillor Evelyn Kgodungwe said leaving houses vacant will only worsen criminal activities and vandalism, more so that the houses will not be immediately passed to the new tenants. “Why can’t they be allowed to stay until a buyer for the mine is secured,” wondered Kgodungwe.
Meanwhile, the provisional liquidator Nigel Dixon-Warren has indicated in the recent interview that his responsibility is not necessarily towards ex-employee,s but to creditors owed by the mine.
“My duty is to preserve the mine assets until they can be disposed of and houses are part of the assets. I have a duty to utilise any opportunity for cost recovery and maintenance of BCL assets, hence a minimal rental charge.
“In fact, ex-employees could have technically been asked to vacate the houses upon liquidation, but we let them stay for 12 months,” he said.