“Don’t allow your parents to vote criminals into power again; they’re going to continue ruining your lives.”
These were some of the first words DA mayoral candidate, Herman Mashaba, spoke to young girls in Princess informal settlement on his recent walkabout visit. Mashaba has been visiting all parts of the city to understand the underprivileged’s hardships, and on Friday morning (13 May) it was their turn. It was his first visit to Princess and he clearly had no idea what the conditions and concerns were. Exiting his vehicle on the dusty settlement soccer stadium, Mashaba came across the girls.
“I said to them, you are young, beautiful and smart girls, why are you not in school or at your workplace?” he later told a crowd that gathered on the ‘field’.
“Your parents voted the current government into power again and again, believing in their vision and investing in them; where has this brought you?”
He said a mayor is responsible for attracting investment in a community and bringing jobs through good, clean governance. A mayor must create an environment in which young people, like those girls, can work and contribute to society, and thrive, he said. He doesn’t believe current governance is working in or for Princess.
“Stop blaming the ANC, the president and the government for what is happening to you, for where you live and for what little access you have; it is you who have the responsibility to change your life, and you who has the power to elect your local representatives.”
Mashaba was flanked by various Roodepoort councillors — including Suzanne Clarke, Gert Niemand, Carl Mann and Caleb Finn — and other DA representatives.
After addressing the people, Mashaba walked alongside a Princess resident, followed by the crowd, who guided him through the settlement and explained various concerns. The concerns included the nearby housing development, which is not yet in use, safety concerns both in terms of the police and emergency services’ lack of access to the settlement and terrible sanitary conditions. He took a look at “pig toilets”, as he referred to the facilities, and met Nomphelo Maziko and her children, Sibonsile, 14 and Mandla, 6. Sibonsile has been unable to attend school for more than two days a week as both children suffer from tuberculosis (TB). Nomphelo explained that her daughter is on medication and her illness is due to their poor living conditions. She also complained that the medicine is scarcely available at local clinics and government hospitals, which is all the impoverished family has access to. Nomphelo doesn’t have a permanent job and does any piece work that comes her way to keep the family afloat.
“It is not right to me that a young girl is missing her opportunities for schooling in life because she lives in such conditions,” Mashaba said while inside their shack.
“I’ll personally be taking your case to the Human Rights Commission,” he promised the family.
Mashaba and his entourage also headed for Plot 8 in Reefhaven and the Fleurhof housing developments on Friday afternoon to access their situations.
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