Security, cleaners unpaid after Tlatsa Ghetto flop
Koketso Kgoboge | Tuesday September 19, 2017 15:46
The security officers who were to paid P150 each were under the employ of Demand Security, a company that was directly engaged by the KAST foundation, while the cleaners were engaged by Tlatsa Ghetto organisers.
“I came here yesterday (Saturday) at 12pm and it’s almost 24 hours now and I haven’t eaten anything. I was employed by Demand Security as a bouncer,” said Manyeloi Baboletse who was among the festival security members. “From what I hear there are issues between the security company and the Tlatsa Lebala organisers and there is no money to pay us for the work we have done that is why we are still waiting here.” Trevor Keemenao who also manned the security said what pains him is that they have to wait extra hours that will not be accounted for. He said the exploitation is not a new thing. “If I leave this place without my money I will never get it, it happened to me a couple of times. We are risking our lives for as little as P150 to assist them and they become problematic when they are supposed to pay us.” The director of Demand Security Otsetswe Makhulumo, who also cried foul, said the KAST foundation tricked him into taking over the job with intentions of cheating him.
He said he did a similar job for the Gaborone Tlatsa Lebala festival and he was paid.
“Their issue is that in Gaborone they requested that I hire 70 people for two shifts instead I hired 35 and I agreed with my people that they will take care of both shifts so that they make extra money for themselves.”
“At that time Kast Foundation had already paid me. Now when I demanded to be paid this morning they raised the Gaborone issue claiming that I did not provide 70 people and I cheated them, so they are saying they don’t owe me,” he said. He added; ”I am here with these people, they are hungry, they want their money and they are agitated. I don’t have money and those guys are not answering my calls”.
The cleaners led by Neo Heins (43) and David Mangongola (57) could not contain the pain as a result of not being paid for the services they have rendered.
“We were hired by (Massie) Hule to carry out the cleaning during the festival. I work here at the stadium and I decided not to go home so that I could make extra income. I hear those people have gone to Gaborone and I am surprised that these children can do that to old people like us,” Heins said. When reached for comment KAST said they have paid Demand Security. He said as for the cleaners it was a matter of communications and they will be sorted out.
“As far as I am concerned we have paid all the companies we were dealing with before the show. I don’t want go into details about our contractual agreements with Demand Security but we have paid them and we can’t be responsible for how they deal with their individual personnel,” he said.