Thousands of unemployed Mamelodi, Nellmapius and Eersterust residents and youth marched to the Tshwane Automotive Special Zone (TASZ) and Ford South Africa on Tuesday demanding jobs.
The protesters held aloft their CVs and handed their memorandum of demands to representatives of the two companies, insisting it was about time the companies started looking out for the locals and stopped hiring people who are not from the area.
Coordinator of Mamelodi Stakeholders, Khutso “Smesh” Semetjane, said their demands were very simple: “jobs must be prioritised for the locals”.
He said they wanted to raise the awareness that while the community suffered high unemployment, the automotive companies operating within their vicinity were not doing any community development or contributing to the reduction of unemployment.
“We live in communities where unemployment is the highest,” Smesh told the protesters at Solomon Mahlangu Square where they gathered before marching to Ford Motor Company.
“We demand the immediate setting up of a collaboration desk that will be formed by Ford South Africa and Mamelodi, Nellmapius and Eersterust stakeholder representatives,” said Smesh.
He said they demanded the immediate scrapping of pure maths as a hiring requirement at the plant and an introduction of a clear enterprise development procedure that would be monitored by the collaboration desk.
He also demanded that Ford reveal its transformation status, all future corporate social investments (CSI) by the company be monitored by the collaboration desk and that those programmes should favour local committees.
He said the protesters were not demanding privileges but a realisation of the objective and goals “we fought for with blood, sweat and tears”.
Other protesters were also willing to speak to Rekord during the march.
Protester Angelinah Sebata said many unemployed people in Mamelodi were desperately looking for jobs but instead of hiring them, Ford hired people “from outside our township in some cases as far as Limpopo”.
Another protester, Robert Mboweni, said he is a qualified artisan and had been trying for jobs at Ford for many years without success.
“Most of the people were hired at the plant because of nepotism or after calling in favours,” said Mboweni.
“Seeing the community coming together, fighting for what is rightfully theirs gives a lot of people hope they will finally get the jobs they deserve.”
Accepting the memorandums, both TASZ representative Msokoli Ntombana and Thabo Masethe from Ford South Africa said: “We want to assure the people of Mamelodi, Nellmapius and Eersterust that we take the issues you have raised today very seriously.
“We will attend to them and, of course, we will respond within the stipulated time.”
Smesh said the protesters were giving the companies seven working days to attend to their demands failing which, “we will be forced to consider alternative means”.
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