BY DALE T. MCKINLEY
JOHANNESBURG — Until recently, not many people were aware of the community of Thembalihle (literal translation — "place of hope"). Situated south of Soweto, Thembalihle had its beginnings when workers moved there to be close to jobs that had become available as a result of the development of light industry and business in the predominately Indian suburb of Lenasia nearby.
Despite its apartheid classification as a "squatter settlement", which resulted in little or no socio-economic development being undertaken by the apartheid authorities, Thembalihle continued to grow.
By the time of the democratic elections of 1994 that brought a formal end to apartheid, the residents of Thembalihle had managed to not only survive the brutalities of the apartheid system but to make the area their permanent home. People lived in their own houses, however modest, children went to local schools, and most of those who had jobs worked nearby. In other words, Thembalihle had put down roots, it had become a real community.
Like many other communities across South Africa, Thembalihle voted overwhelmingly for the African National Congress in the national elections of 1994 and proceeded to elect an ANC councillor in the local government elections of 1995.
Having struggled alongside the ANC to achieve the most basic political and socio-economic rights, the residents of Thembalihle fully expected that the new government would follow-through on its Reconstruction and Development Program (RDP) election pledges of meaningful development for South Africa's workers and poor.
Throughout the 1990s, the community of Thembalihle continued to support the ANC government, trusting that the absence of development in the area was just a matter of time. But, even after the majority of its residents voted for the ANC in the 1999 elections, Thembalihle was still waiting for visible signs of job creation, public housing construction, the provision of water and electricity and enhanced educational and recreational facilities.
Emily Gwala, a Thembalihle pensioner and resident since 1990, expresses the frustration that most residents felt. "We received nothing after we voted in 1994 ... the few RDP houses that were built are worse than those built by the apartheid government", she says emphatically.
At the beginning of 1998, the community of Thembalihle started to hear reports that the provincial and local government structures were planning to move them to a new area called Vlakfontein, several kilometres further south. As it turned out, the official reason for the removal plans was that Thembalihle was situated on dolomite (something that the government authorities had known about for years) and therefore was unsafe for human habitation. At the time, long-time Thembalihle residents such as Nomsa Mnisi were sceptical of such an explanation, since there had been little visible proof of the much-feared sinkholes normally associated with dolomitic ground.
While Mnisi says she and her husband built a double-storey brick house on their plot in 1995 to "prove there are no problems with us living here", the community had no way to seriously question the validity of what appeared to be a scientific explanation for the intended removal.
Only recently however, Margaret Mthembu, a community activist and resident of 13 years, managed to get her hands on a copy of a letter, dated July 1998, from the local government authority, the Southern Metropolitan Local Council (SMLC), to a local developer, Sam Ramasike, who had made an application for housing development in Thembalihle. The letter finally reveals the real reason behind the plan to abandon the development of the existing community and move people to Vlakfontein.
The letter stated: "... geo-technical reports showed that Thembalihle is situated on dolomite. As a result, the Gauteng Provincial Housing Board and the SMLC decided that the Thembalihle community be relocated to Vlakfontein Ext.1, the reason being that it will be too expensive to develop the area for low income housing. The report further indicated that Zone 1 & 2 (in Thembalihle) may be developed provided that precautions are taken with respect to the design and installation of engineering services. The financial implications of this proviso indicated that the installation of essential services and the erection of houses will only be suitable for medium to high income beneficiaries."
In other words, there was, and still is, no reason why the existing community of Thembalihle cannot be properly developed provided that the necessary financial resources are made available by government.
The letter makes it clear that the decision to remove the residents of Thembalihle is based primarily on fiscal considerations, not dolomitic ground and that the government is more than willing to assist in developing the area for those who can afford it.
Indeed, rumours have continued to circulate in Thembalihle since the late '90s that if the authorities succeed in removing the community, it will be replaced by a shopping mall surrounded by an up-scale neighbourhood. Given the contents of the infamous letter, such rumours do not seem so far-fetched.
Even though the Thembalihle community did not know about the contents of this letter at the time, they reacted to the removal plans with both indignation and anger. How could the "people's" government they had fought for for so long to put into power, the government that had promised so much to the workers and poor, now effectively abandon them? As Margaret Mthembu asked: "Why are we receiving municipal bills for service charges when there were no services being provided by the council?"
How could that same government now tell them that the reason why there had been no development in Thembalihle was because of a geological problem that had been known about for years and seemingly only applied to Thembalihle and not all of the surrounding area, including Lenasia? Why were they to be moved from an established community in which people had invested so much, to a desolate patch of land far away from shops, their jobs and schools?
Despite repeated attempts by the community to engage with government structures and representatives, especially with their local ANC councillor, Dan Bovu, and to get honest answers to these questions, none were forthcoming.
By late last year, residents were still in the dark. Written requests were sent to ANC Johannesburg mayor, Amos Masondo, to address the community by a local group called the Concerned Women of Thembalihle, but nothing happened. Not surprisingly, the community refused to move.
It was then, a few months ago, that the SMLC, along with the Provincial Housing Board, hired the notorious private security firm, Wozani Securities (otherwise known as the "Red Ants") to forcibly remove residents of Thembalihle.
When Wozani descended on Thembalihle, the community organised themselves and defended their homes. Youths set up burning barricades on the narrow dirt roads that criss-cross the community and fought running battles with the much-despised Red Ants. Although media reports at the time implied that the community defenders were responsible for burning down part of a nearby school, one of their number, 19 year-old Xolisa, angrily denies this and says that it was the work of local tsotsis (hoodlums) taking advantage of the situation.
Elsewhere, community members like Emily Gwala, under the auspices of the Thembalihle Crisis Committee, marched on Bovu's office and proceeded to claim the office and the adjoining community hall as their own. "We chased him away", says Gwala, "we don't want him anymore, he has done nothing since we elected him".
When Gwala and her comrades entered the offices, they found the place completely trashed, and all the furniture, doors and windows taken away. They also stumbled across thousands of dust-covered council service bills, addressed to Thembalihle residents, stacked in one of the rooms. She says that Bovu is now "hiding at the municipal offices in Lenasia" and that the community is running things on their own.
Because of the community's resistance, the government and its hired thugs were forced to retreat and an uneasy calm has now settled over Thembalihle. Out of a population of around 25,000, fewer than 10% have moved to Vlakfontein, either voluntarily or forcibly.
Both Margaret Mthembu and Emily Gwala are adamant that the community is there to stay, despite the continued lack of basic services and infrastructure. Mthembu hopes that the people of Thembalihle can set up their own democratic community council. "All councillors are crooks", she adds derisively. Says Gwala, "I don't like politicians ... I'll never go to Vlakfontein, even if they try to chop my head off".
The fiery Gwala captures the demands of the Thembalihle community in a simple yet profound way. " We want development", she says. It is such development that has continued to be denied to Thembalihle.
Indeed, the real story of Thembalihle is one of broken promises, outright duplicity and political betrayal suffered at the hands of a government that seems impervious to the cries of the poor and downtrodden. But Thembalihle's is also a story of a humble yet proud community that has continued to fight for its human dignity and the basic rights that make such dignity a lived reality.
From 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly, August 28, 2002.
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