Life under a bridge

Complaints have been rolling in about squatters under the Delmas bridge. While it is an eyesore it is a complex problem for residents and squatters alike.

The Herald spoke to Patricia Khumalo, who lives under the Delmas bridge with her daughter.

When the Herald visited, Khumalo was on her make-shift bed shielded by a half a metre tent made of mesh, plastic and other scrap material.

She and her daughter Masala, who suffers from Down Syndrome, were eating half a loaf of bread, rolling pieces of it between their fingers to make it go down easier.

Khumalo ended up under the bridge after a series of unfortunate events. She explained that when she returned to her shack at the landfill squatter camp after being to the New Year’s Eve church service, she found only a smouldering heap of wood.

The rain came down later that night. It was only me and my child trying to find some place safe. I was attacked and so was my child. I don’t know why. Who would do such a thing? Later we came to Delmas for shelter and built this tent held up with sticks,” she said.

Khumalo had applied for an RDP house already in 1999. She used to work in Kyalami and when she returned to Randfontein and enquired about her application, she was told to apply again.

Khumalo currently receives only a grant for her child. This she uses to sustain the two of them through the month. She also collects recyclable materials to sell and to find piece jobs in Greenhills to bring in extra money.

For water, she goes from business to business and house to house to get a bottle here and there. “On Fridays at least there is some help. Church people give us food.

“I live here with my child. The father ran away when I was pregnant. I have no future and what will happen to my disabled child? The only thing I want is my application for an RDP house to be accepted. I want to have my own home and do things for myself. I need to be there for my child,” she explained.

In the development planning meeting, it was said that the squatters under the Delmas bridge have been an issue for years and every time they chase them away, they return a month later.

The most recent eviction was in December last year, Vusi Hadebe from the Randfontein Local Municipality said.

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