Are they the forgotten men?

When their lives were uprooted and they were relocated to an unused hall in Krugersdorp West, the men from Makhulugama believed it was only temporary and that everything would turn out alright. At least that is what they were told.

The men spoke to News journalist Natasha Pretorius while standing outside the Paul Kruger Hall in Krugersdorp West, the place they now call home.

Almost six months after the shacks in the Makhulugama informal settlement next to West Village were demolished, the men still live in the hall.

Read more here:

https://www.citizen.co.za/krugersdorp-news/386526/cops-bring-makhulugama-to-its-knees/

More than 50 men sleep on mattresses on the floor. One bright spotlight lights up the room, but it is not kept on permanently so they have to make their way in the dark or make their own light.

There are basins for them to wash their faces but no showers, and three outside toilets, making life extremely difficult for those who have jobs.

Even those without jobs said they were struggling. They want to find jobs, but said all their documents and clothes were taken the day of the demolition.

In the meantime they have to find food somewhere every day.

They claimed that the municipality has only provided them with food once in all the months they had been there.

The men have also been separated from their children and their wives who, according to them, have to pay to live in shelters in town.

The last time a representative from the municipality had visited them was four months ago, and they have not received any help from their ward councillor, Whitey Moleba, they said.

“I don’t care about not being fed, I don’t care what they promised. If only they could give me back my stuff, then I will find a place to make a new home for me and my family. I can go back to Pretoria,” one of the men said – a sentiment echoed by the rest of them.

They said the hall they are living in now is in the same state they had found it.

“A woman came here and said she wanted photos with us, but then she claimed in the newspaper that we had broken the electricity boxes out of the wall. They are still there. We have security; if we had broken things, won’t security have reported it?” another man added.

Also Read:

https://www.citizen.co.za/krugersdorp-news/386625/update-makhulugama-where-will-the-people-go/

It became clear that all these men want is to get back their belongings, be reunited with their families and settle down again.

The Mogale City Local Municipality (MCLM) responded to questions by the News regarding the people living at the hall.

When asked where the residents’ belongings were being kept, the Human Settlements Division replied that to the best of their knowledge the residents had been moved with all their belongings.

“Our colleagues at Public Safety also confirmed that their belongings were offloaded where they were dropped off – at their current location,” the reply read.

The News spoke to numerous people who used to lived in the informal settlement and all of them said that they were under the impression their belongings were being stored.

The MCLM also said they were trying to identify a site where the people could be moved, but that things such as risk assessments and environmental assessments had to be done. They have a property, but it did not meet some of the requirements.

“We are currently working hard to finalise the logistics and requirements for the currently identified site. It is difficult to have an exact time frame due to the number of variables attached to the process,” the MCLM said.

As for their wives and children living in shelters, the MCLM said that some of the women were moved to a shelter when it all happened last year, but as of the end of the year, the women were removed from the shelter and reunited with their families.

When the News visited the hall on different occasions there were no women or children, and the men said they missed their families who still lived in the shelters.

The MCLM response also stated that the Mogale City Social Development Division had arranged mattresses, chemical toilets and blankets for the men, but that community halls should ideally be used for recreational purposes, hence the lack of showers and bathtubs.

“The decision to place the affected persons in the community hall was due to the urgency that they found themselves under. But as mentioned the City is preparing to relocate them to a permanent location once all required processes have been met.”

They also mentioned that the South African Social Security Agency together with other non-governmental organisations have been assisting the men with food parcels.