‘No work will be done until our demands are met and addressed’ – said an angry crowd

They woke up every morning and went to the site to ensure that construction work did not resume until their demands were met and addressed.

July 25, 2016

James Mahlokwane 5 minutes read

DISAPPOINTED: Gabriel Mokoena is unhappy that the MMC of Housing, Daniel Bovu, left a meeting after picking up a call. The MMC did not return and offered not explanation why.

AN angry crowd from ward 57 shut down construction in the South Hills Housing project from Friday, July 15.

They woke up every morning and went to the site to ensure that construction work did not resume until their demands were met and addressed.

The first protests at the site started earlier this year on Wednesday, April 13, over exclusion in the hiring processes and turned violent as some of the protesters started attacking the workers who were said to be coming from outside ward 57, thereby benefiting unfairly as the project was supposed to benefit the locals mostly.

But that protest ended up splitting the protesters into two groups, as another crop of protesters joined forces with a worker who was fighting back and helped him to ensure he was not harmed.

The current protests have lasted longer because the protesters said they want to be taken seriously. They will ensure no work will be done until the MMC of Housing, Daniel Bovu, and the Johannesburg executive mayor, Clr Parks Tau, come and resolved the problems with the project the same way they introduced the project.

Speaking to the Southern COURIER, protesters said people are not happy that Community Liaison Officer (CLO), Lungile Mseshi, was relieved of the CLO duties, which resulted in them not having anyone to speak to. They said they are also unhappy that there are people coming from as far as Orange Farm to work on the site, while there are locals who received training on-site but have still not been recruited.

The protesters also said there was a subcontractor on the site who did not pay people’s salaries for months. The protesters said they are also unhappy that there are workers who came with the contractor, who are being paid as much as R170 a day, while the locals who do the same job are paid only R100.

Gabriel Mokoena, Naledi Lingela and Mncedisi PhuPhuma, who spoke to the COURIER, said the people will not be happy until they appoint their own CLO, a new labour desk is established and the Ward Development Forum they appointed themselves in the South Hills is recognised.

MMC of Housing, Daniel Bovu

On the evening of Wednesday, July 20, MMC Bovu visited the protesters to try and resolve the matter and come to an understanding. According to the protesters, they were invited to the MMC’s office on the evening on Thursday, July 21, to finalised talks. It seemed like it was agreed the protesters’ CLO of choice would be reinstated and the work would be allowed to resume on Monday, July 25.

But the protester informed the COURIER on Friday morning that they were disappointed that the Thursday meeting was unsuccessful because they MMC picked up the phone and left. He did not return, without explaining why to the people.

The DA’s ward 57 Clr Faeeza Chame was was also invited to the meeting.

“I can confirm that the meeting took place and the people were indeed angry because the MMC left and did not explain why to the people.”

The COURIER was unsuccessful in reaching the MMC. A request for comment was sent, but at the time of going to press no comment had been received.

Turning disruptive

On Friday, July 22, at about 11:20, the protesters were frustrated again and started burning tires and allegedly stoning vehicles. Residents phoned the COURIER to inform them of what was happening. The COURIER has been following the developments since the beginning and will continue to update the community and liais with the City of Johannesburg and Calgro M3.

Project Manager

Karel Oberholzer, who is the site manager, informed the COURIER on Tuesday, July 19, that unfortunately Calgro M3 cannot recruit everyone and at the moment they are exceeding their recruitment targets.

This is not a legal protest as it was not arranged through formal processes, but Calgro was willing to negotiate with the people to come to a resolution.

Calgro M3 comments

1. The City of Johannesburg recommended the CLO be dismissed, not Calgro M3. The position is a City of Johannesburg (CoJ) appointment and this is, therefore, not a Calgro M3 decision. An interview process was followed subsequently by the CoJ to appoint two CLOs, one for infrastructure and another for top structure construction. A recommendation was forwarded to us from CoJ in this regard. So, although the dismissal was facilitated by Calgro M3, it was at the request of the CoJ.

Two new CLOs have been appointed and they are to commence with their duties on Monday, July 25. This was agreed to by the business forum representatives on Wednesday, July 20. The CoJ conducted the interviews and presented the new CLOs to Calgro M3 for appointment.

2. Calgro M3 has definitely employed more local labour. In fact, approximately 65% of sub-contractor employees currently on-site are local. The CoJ’s procurement policy prescribes a ratio of 30% and the project is currently more than double that level.

3. Some 65% of employees are sourced locally. Any person and sub-contractor needs to go through a formal registration process with the labour desk. All local labour must register at the labour desk and are then appointed if and when the need arises, so Calgro M3 is able to monitor the level of locally-sourced employees.

4. Regarding the varieties on salaries, Calgro M3 said all labourers are being paid the same rate, except in the civil construction area of the business, where a set government rate is being paid.

5. The accusations that Calgro M3 trained people on-site but that none of the people trained have been recruited, is not correct – there are, indeed, trained persons currently employed on-site. According to our records, SMMEs have been given work on-site as contractors and local labour for sub-contractors.

6. Concerning the sub contractor who did not pay people’s salaries, Calgro M3 said it was made aware of the issue on approximately 1 July 2016 and spoke to the sub-contractor concerned. According to our information, the problem was resolved on 15 July 2016 as the labourers made our site agent aware that they were fully paid.

7. Calgro M3 and the CoJ had a meeting with the protesters on Wednesday, July 20, to resolve these issues. At the meeting, it was agreed between the Calgro M3 representatives and the local business forum representatives that: The new CLO appointments will stand and they will commence their duties on Monday, July 25; The appointment of the labour desk officer is in the process of being reviewed and any new appointment will be made with the input of the local business forum; All site activities will re-commence on Monday, July 25; A formal process of communication will be commenced to resolve other issues that have been raised.

“As an aside, Calgro M3 planned to refurbish the municipal swimming pool at Moffat Park (South Hills), which will be to the benefit of all local residents and specifically local schools, as part of its CSI contribution for Mandela Day. As a result of the protests, Calgro M3 has had no option but to cancel the Mandela Day celebrations,” said Gillian Findlay, from Cambial Communications, a company representing Calgro M3.

At the time of going to print, protest action had begun to increase.

Both the SAPS and EMPD were on-scene to monitor the situation.