Letters: Don’t blame others for our flops

What a beautiful investment in our area the Junction mall is. It is no longer necessary to drive to Gateway. This investment contributes fiscally to our municipality.
I raised a concern with councillors about the agreement to use local government to supply shops with CVs of possible employees. I argued that I support in principle the idea of using local labour, but the municipality and ward councillors cannot be “labour brokers”. I suggested that what must be done is a structure similar to NEDLAC where business, labour and government (not ANC) meet and agree on two issues, local labour and Black Economic Empowerment.
Our councillors decided to “sleep on duty”. With a high rate of corruption.
I was sceptical that labour provision could be managed by councillors who can take bribes. I asked councillors how will they resolve a situation where two or three wards fortunately got 50 people employed, but other wards get not more 15 and five wards get none? Like Ahmed Kathrada, I did not get a response.
I was disturbed that ignorant masses, mostly unemployed, had to march but were unaware that our councillors had “slept on duty”. We must be careful as politicians and leaders that we do not use “masses” as if we are opening and closing a tap.
Before we talk about how employment was done in Ballito Junction, how is employment done in government? Is the process transparent and why do we have graduates staying unemployed but comrades linked to councillors are employed for six months as “casual or temporary” workers and after that they are normalised as full-time employees without the jobs being advertised?
Last year there was a march because a certain Sparrow made racist comments. I asked comrades, “Why are you marching against Sparrow but you cannot march against a ‘super-comrade’ who lives in a R246m palace somewhere between Kranskop and Eshowe. Are you not manipulating the unemployed?”
Let’s say all these shops were run by Africans. Were they going to employ people without experience in key posts just because it is a must to employ people living within the KwaDukuza municipality area? If KwaDukuza municipality wants engineers, town planners and finance managers but there is no one within the area, what would councillors do? I asked some councillors if they have a database of skilled workers that new shops can use. To my shock there is none. Why? Because our councillors “slept on duty” and now are taking the masses to the streets.
The so called “White Monopoly Capital” cannot be blamed for our flops. We cannot have leaders like President Zuma who use the masses to shield them from prosecution. Our economy is stagnant but the blame goes on “White Monopoly Capital”.
We must do some self-reflection, a call made by Ahmed Kathrada. Let’s stop fooling our people, one day they will turn against us.
Remember the words of Amilcar Cabral: “Tell no lies. Expose lies whenever they are told. Mask no difficulties, mistakes, failures. Claim no easy victories…” The train has arrived in Durban Station, now you complain that some were left out at Groutville, Umhlali, Tongaat and Duffs Road. You are not telling the people that you were asleep throughout the journey.
SIYANDA MHLONGO
KwaDukuza