OUR VIEW: When you make promises, make sure you keep them
It is a warm Saturday morning in Number 4387 KaNyamazane Township, where Gogo Martha Chiloane (75) resides with her four children in her house which was severely damaged by the devastating storm that hit the area last year in May.
Gogo Chiloane was seated outside in the sun, reading her Bible.
She may have been seeking solace in God the Almighty for her home to be fixed before the rainy season approached once again. For her, it is a nightmare when it rains.
Her house (currently covered with a blue canvas over the roof, hanging over the sides, secured with bricks) has so many leaks in all the rooms, that it fills up with water everywhere whenever it rains.
I was actually disappointed. After we had last visited her on July 19 and published her story, no one from the Department of Human Settlements has paid her a visit, nor has she been been checked on by her ward councilor.
More than 2 000 houses were damaged by the storm. Almost more than 90 per cent of them have been fixed.
The deadline for completion was July 31, but was abruptly shifted to the end of August when we sent an inquiry last month about the plight of Gogo Chiloane.
Our story should have spurred them on to fix the granny’s house, but she remains in the dark, despite numerous promises.
Each morning when she wakes up, she just cannot help but feel pained as she sees her two neighbours’ houses on either side, properly fixed.
It is three weeks to the next deadline today, and my earnest plea to the authorities out there: it is Women’s Month, and for the sake of doing right by women, please fix the granny’s house and let her enjoy some hospitality, and at least some dignity, like all human beings deserve.
It is, after all, her right as a citizen to be recognised by the government. When you make promises, make sure you keep them. She is one of millions of poor and destitute elderly citizens that are very loyal to the ruling party by always voting for them during elections.
My biggest question is: why is she treated this way in the first place? Is this the caring ANC that treats citizens in this manner? Or is it some arrogant individuals?
This calls for leadership to rise to the occasion and do justice to Gogo Chiloane. It is a sad situation indeed.
