Diepkloof residents demand 70% employment from local businesses
In a peaceful March they also handed a memorandum to Baragwanath Hospital regarding allegations of employment corruption within the hospital.
The global pandemic has exposed a lot of complex realities as far as unemployment is concerned, unfortunately, as high as unemployment has been before the pandemic, the global pandemic may lead to persistence of it. Even worse, the looting spree that took place last month, may have worsened things.
Diepkloof residents in ward 26, have been having pending concerns regarding unemployment and corruption and on Tuesday, August 3, they embarked on a peaceful march to local businesses, facilities, and companies to demand that they employ 70% of local residents, saying that they are their biggest supporters and thus, must benefit as well.
Their first stop was Bara Mall, where they were joined by Motsoaledi Informal Settlement’s ward 24 residents, they raised their issues with the management team. Bara Mall is currently under construction following looting and residents are saying they want to be prioritised for employment for rebuilding the mall.
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Before the looting spree, a part of this mall had to go under refurbishment as it was falling apart and not safe for shoppers, the main contractor, Kubu Projects, currently in charge of refurbishing that part of the mall said that the project is almost coming to an end, and hiring any of the residents won’t benefit them, however, the company made a commitment to assist the community in anything that may benefit them on a long-term basis.
Bara Mall on the other hand during this refurbishing process said it will need plumbers, electrical technicians, sprinkler installers as well as glass repair people. Residents then handed over their CVs and demanded to be prioritised should there be any vacant post at the mall. They also handed over a list of their names with contact details and demanded they are recorded in the database.
“It is sad that we have to come here and beg for jobs for the same businesses and companies that benefit from us as a community, why should we be skipped when there are opportunities and people from outside Diepkloof and even outside the province be given jobs in businesses that are based and get support from this very community? We demand 70% of the jobs from these people and we are not taking anything less than that,” said Mbali Radebe a young activist who is at the forefront of this movement.
Ward 26 residents then proceeded to Baragwanath Hospital to hand over a memorandum to the hospital management. The memorandum which alleged a number of issues in the process of hiring candidates in the hospital was handed over and the hospital has made a commitment to respond to the memorandum at their earliest convenience.
In the memorandum, the community listed a number of concerns varying from employment opportunities, business opportunities for local entrepreneurs and corruption within the hospital when it comes to job opportunities and listed a number of demands:
– The community demands that the hospital implements consequences management to nepotism.
-Implores the hospital to review the department of the supply chain and advertise job vacancies that will prioritise the locals with immediate effect.
-demands the hospital prioritise the local companies when it comes to security and cleaning opportunities.
The same was done with the hospital, CVs were handed over to the team and demands to prioritise local residents were made.
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