“This is not a protest,” UPCFSA chairperson Teboga Rakgabyane told HERAUT and explained that they have marched to the building site in order to obtain clarity regarding recruitment.
While the economy rejoiced over the announcement of PRASA’s investment in South Africa, Tebogo explained that thousands of local job seekers and skilled artisans remain concerned over Gibela Rail’s (the company contracted by PRASA to build and deliver a rolling stock of 600 trains), recruitment process.
During a number of public meetings (the last of which took place on January 15 in Alrapark) community development manager of Gibela, Sipho Bambisa assured local residents that construction of the manufacturing site in Dunnottar is still on track. HERAUT attended one of the public meetings in order obtain the necessary information first hand.
Bambisa explained that the first phase of the project entails a rescue operation of all indigenous plants within the site area, which plants will carefully be removed and preserved until the site area has been flattened out (second phase) for construction purposes.
“For the first phase, preference treatment will be given to local job seekers with full or partial disabilities,” Bambisa then said, but when HERAUT attempted to visit the site over the following weeks to establish whether local job seekers are indeed employed, access was denied.
During a number of visits to the site, a security guard at the entrance told our journalist there were no people working on site other than workers from a survey company. “Do you see any people working on the land, M’am?” he had asked.
While members of UPCFSA spoke to the police at the entrance of the building site on February 17, a Trencon bus carrying a load of people, suddenly pulled up and entered the site. Trencon Construction Pty Ltd is the earthmoving company contracted by Gibela to clear the site, prior to the actual construction process. According to Bambisa during the public meetings, site clearance is the second phase of the project, before construction commences later this year.
HERAUT sent an email to Gibela media liaison Pamela Gadebe last week, enquiringly asking for the latest information on the recruitment issue and also requested authorisation for a site visit. Neither Pamelo nor any representative from Gibela responsed yet.
UPCFSA has now indicated that a public meeting will take place at 10:30 at 133 Prinsep Avenue, Dunnottar in order to organise a mass protest.
