FREE
ESTABLISHED 1991
WEDNESDAY 13 MAY 2013
WWW.EXPRESSNEWS.CO.ZA
Living on the dump
Bill an attack on freedom Families have to eat food dumped at landfill site } Ben Burger
} Tladi Moloi
THE Forum of Community Journalists (FCJ) is deeply disappointed with government’s decision to push ahead in their efforts in having the Protection of State Information Bill (POSIB), commonly known as the Secrecy Bill, signed into law. It would seem that government has forgotten that Section 16 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa enshrines the right to freedom of expression which states “Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, which includes: (a) freedom of the press and other media; (b) freedom to receive or impart information or ideas; (c) freedom of artistic creativity; and (d) academic freedom and freedom of scientific research.” “As an industry body representing community and local media journalists, we view this Bill not only as a blatant attack on press freedom, but also an attack on our fragile democracy. “It is the FCJ’s belief that this Bill is nothing more than an attempt by government to silence those who speak out against corruption and crime by criminalizing whistle-blowers. “The FCJ therefore supports any action to put an end to this planned injustice against the people of South Africa.” ) Burger is the national chairperson of the FCJ. ) Express’ journalists are members of the forum and thus align themselves fully with the FCJ’s position – Jabulani Dlamini, Express Group editor.
AT this time when South Africans are celebrating Freedom Day, it is sad to witness some people vying with pigs for their food. While some complain about what they have, others have to fight with pigs to get something to eat at the Ficksburg dumping site, west of Senekal. About five families have erected plastic shacks for shelter in the area. Express Eastern Free State has been reliably informed that those people lived in an informal settlement called Zone 8 in Meqheleng. Express EFS was also told that they had decided to leave the site because they had to walk about 16 km every day to find food. Express EFS recently visited the area and on arrival found about 20 street children sitting at the gate. Sadly, three children believed to be between the age of 2 and 5 were also spotted at the site where an unbearable smell hangs in the air that could cause serious illness for anyone living there. Matankiso Masoe (25) said she had been living at the dumping site since 2010. Masoe, a mother of a two-yearold girl who lives with her at the site, said the children’s father had died the year before. She said she had decided to work at the site after she had realised that she could not work anywhere else because she had no identity document. “I am originally from Lesotho and I knew that an ID would just be a nightmare. My child does not have a birth certificate and I have requested the family of her father to help me, but they showed no interest,” she said. When asked how she could live
DESPERATE TIMES: A man collects plastic bottles from the dumping site. with her children in such circumstances she said: “I’ve got no choice, if she becomes ill, I’ll take her to the clinic.” Express EFS was also told that the owner of one of the shacks had taken an ill child to the clinic. Moeketsi “Rasta” Sebotsa (48), a father of two girls aged 4 and 8, said he had been living at the dumping site for five years and revealed that he had suffered tuberculosis because of the smell. Sebotsa said they usually wait for the trucks carrying food that had reached their expiry date visiting the site on a daily basis so that they can get something to eat. “We’ll eat something and then take some of it home for our families to eat,” he said. Sebotsa, who cannot use his
left hand, said he had decided to make a living this way because he knew he would not be able to work elsewhere. “I’d rather live by eating this food than stealing from someone,” he said. Karabelo Dikwantsane (43), a mother of four, has been living at the site for five years. She said her children’s father lived with them but had no job. “I collect plastic and bottles to make a living. There are some people who come twice a week to collect it and they give us money. “I sometimes make R100 a week. Even though it is not enough, it’s better than nothing,” she said. Karabo David Thwani, supervisor: waste and landfill site management in the Setsoto Local
Photo: Tladi Moloi
Municipality, said the municipality was aware of the people and added that they had taken certain steps to get the situation under control. He said a tender had been advertised for the rehabilitation of the landfill site. “The municipality does not have a bulldozer to work at that site, but we have sourced some of the machines to do dig holes and cover the waste,” he said. He said in terms of gate controllers the councillor would appoint people after the site had been rehabilitated. “We don’t have a proper monitoring system and for that reason there are people at the site.” ) Give your comments on the story on our Facebook Page at Express Eastern Free State.