Letters: Don’t point fingers – do something!

I have been pondering this for a while now, and can’t figure out how this march on the opening day of Ballito Junction makes any sense at all.
The issues that I have heard raised are:
• The youth of KDM are being “exploited” by giving jobs to people from other areas. “Exploit” means to take advantage of, and hiring people from other areas doesn’t mean that people of KDM are being taken advantage of . . . perhaps “overlooked” would be a better word.
Assuming reducing our carbon footprint is not the reason for the complaint of hiring people / companies from other areas, how can this be an objection? Are the people who live in Durban, Umhlanga, Tongaat, etc. not also ANC(YL) members and in need of employment?
Does taking a job from someone living in those areas to give it to someone who lives in Shakaskraal work to the benefit of all South Africans, or just the ones who live where we do?
If a worker rents a room in Groutville and moves there, does this now entitle them to a job at the new mall, whereas taking the train in each day from KwaMashu makes it unacceptable?
How many people who live in KDM are actually from KDM, and not the Eastern Cape, Melmoth, Richard’s Bay, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, etc. anyway?
• The mall has hired companies from areas such as Tongaat, Umhlanga, and Durban for things like security and cleaning, rather than hiring KDM based companies.
What did the local cleaning and security companies do in order to earn the contract for the new mall? Did they actively pursue mall management for the opportunity? Did they even tender at all, or did they just expect to be handed the job? Do these companies from KDM have proven track records working in large malls like this one and the capacity to handle the demand? Are their prices and offerings competitive?
What have these companies done to make their offering stand out to mall management over and above service providers that they already have established relationships with? It’s tough in any industry to break into the market where the existing providers offer competitive pricing, good service delivery, and have longstanding relationships with management.
• There ought to be more black / local owned shops in the mall.
Were black / local shop owners denied applications to lease space in the mall?
We all can agree that “Local is Lekka”, but displacing one employee for another due to their address just doesn’t make sense. Destroying property and making demands does not encourage constructive discussion. “Delivering misery” to the people of Ballito doesn’t change anything except possibly to deter future investment in the area. Forcing some people to march who actually don’t want to is just plain terrible.
In my opinion the ANCYL is trying to be revolutionary without considering the impact of their methods, or the end result of what they’re demanding. What was achieved by the march? How is “economic freedom in our lifetime” achieved even if the mall capitulated to all the ANCYL’s demands?
Rather than demanding jobs / contracts, why don’t the ANCYL members start up their own companies? Use that energy and support base to start something positive rather than pointing fingers. Imagine the entirety of the people who showed up to protest yesterday starting a construction company and bidding on the RDP projects in the area! They would be sure to earn those tenders (as persuasive as they are), and would provide jobs and value. They may also gain some insight into what it means to run a company.
JEFF PEXA
Ballito