The trudge to labour is a daily drudge for many

KOPANO OLESITSE
Correspondent | Wednesday March 30, 2011 00:00

Some survive on the piece jobs they get from government departments, such as cutting grass and picking litter.

Foreigners are not allowed on these premises, while Batswana are issued with yellow jobseekers' cards that enable them to be identified by potential employers. Some just come to these offices with the hope that they may be easily found by employers who check with the labour department if there are any people looking for jobs.  While people who frequent these offices are from different ethnic and social backgrounds, they share the common denominator of being in need of food, shelter and clothing. Some of them are freshly out of school.

 As I park my car and proceed in their direction, they run towards me, shoving one another to reach me each before the rest. 'I came first,' they say in unison. 'No, I found this man first,' comes the chorus. I apologise that I am not an employer but merely a newspaper reporter. Their disappointment immediately shows just how hungry these people are for employment, survival and ever-elusive happiness.

Masilo Mmualefhe is an energetic 31-year-old, who hails from Serowe and frequents the labour office. Even though his highest education level is Junior Certificate (JC), he has some experience in sales and holds a driver's licence.

'The main reason I come to these offices is so I may pay my own rent and buy myself food,' Mmualefhe says.

'Zimbabweans and other foreigners are not allowed here because here we do not have 'scarce skills' jobs. 'Besides, the officials demand IDs in order to issue us with jobseekers' cards. The cards help with the congestion because they can easily know the number of people in need of employment.

'Even though I do not have children, I have a plot which needs to be developed. But because I am unemployed, that has not been possible and now the government wants to take the plot back. 'I urge employers to come to these offices and hire us because we do not have money with which to buy newspapers for job ads. At times, various government departments pay us as little as P50 per day doing piece jobs.'

Oipeile Nkalang (41) is a mother of seven who has been trudging to the labour office for the past six years. 'It is hard because I have two children and five orphans to look after,' she says. 'Lack of employment is a serious problem for me. I depend on piece jobs to feed my children.

Says Ketsana Motlhabi (42): 'I come here because I have a child to look after. At times I feel like giving up on life because it is difficult to find employment. When it is time for important holidays like Christmas, I cannot afford to go home. I eat only one meal a day to try and reserve something for tomorrow.'

Gagoreope Sefitlholo (33) has been coming  here for the past year and four months: 'I have a serious problem because I need to put my children through school, but I cannot afford it,' she says. 'I have two children aged 10 and one. I also need to eat good healthy food, but I simply cannot afford it. I normally cut grass on a piece job basis.'

Goitseone Boikanyo (21) is also a job seeker: 'I have been unemployed for three years,' she says. I used to work for the Botswana Meat Commission. All I need here are piece jobs.' Chenjelani Motswana (32) visits the labour offices from 5am to 4pm. 'I have been looking for a job for the past six years, but to no avail,' he says. 

A Labour and Home Affairs official, who prefers anonymity, explains the plight of the jobseekers from an official perspective: 'These people even have their own committees that we do not know anything about,' he says.

'Even though they are not authorised, we cannot chase them away. At times when government departments need casual labourers, they give them piece jobs. Some of them even sleep here because there are toilets and showers for their use just outside.' What are the jobseekers' cards for then if the people are not authorised to come to the labour offices? 'We expect them to fill in the job seekers cards on Tuesdays and Thursdays,' the official explains.

We also register them in our books.  'These cards and the registrations help us update our databases regarding how many people are looking for jobs as labourers. After registration is done, we expect them to go home because when there is something, we can simply call them.

'Zimbabweans and other foreigners are not allowed to register because we do not require scarce skills. We need foreigners only in areas of scarce skills.'