Eating and Breathing Pollution

Bophelong is situated in the Vanderbijlpark in the Vaal Triangle in the region of Gauteng.
Pollution of Arcerlor Mittal, slagment,Bophelong Bricks are killing the future of the young people and everyone who live near this companies they pollute day and night they don’t care who says what. The bricks comapny manufacture is situated right near the Squatter Camp called Joko Tea and Bophelong township. Communities living nearby,complains about emissions and the black dust they inhale coming from this companies. The company decide to come from nowhere to build their plant where people are staying . This company did not consult with the community to tell what are they going to do, they just do whatever they like because they have big bucks,the poor community just observe them making profit over their life ,community complains that they don’t benefit nothing from this company instant of receiving lots of sicknesses caused by the chemicals they use to manufacture their bricks. Illness such as sinus, skin irritation, swollen feet , eyes irritation.Community feels that living with pollution is not an option because the comapnies are not offering the jobs. Even when they are sick they have scramble and struggle to go to the doctors, clinic are always full an can't accomodate everyone. Community's appeal to government to listen with Humanity and protect their rights.

Incomplete tyreroad

Movhango is situated in vanderbijlpark in the vaal triangle Gauteng Province, South of Johannesburg.
The community of this new township that has been Established in 1994 community is still complaining about the main road in extension 14 which was promised by the Emfulweni municipality to put a tyreroad.Since last year municipality in 2010 decided to honour its promised but contracting someone to put a tyreroad, but the contractor decide to disappear and leave unfinished road,now cars and community is community are using this road again and it looks as if it was never been touched.

But the value of this road is not up to standards of the national roads because the is lot of crusher stones,loosen soil, the is no diference between gravel road and the tyreroad is still the same.
The lady age 36 in this area says that when it rains,you can not walk in this road because of the clay,cars get stucked,such as taxis passengers get late at work. During dry seasons there is a lot of dust that get into the houses. What boardes this lady again is that atthe place called lejweng(rock) cafe at extension 14 the are municipality tractors digged a clay soil and leave a big open holes in extension 14. After school hours the kids go to play inside this open holes,municipality use the playing ground to dig soil without consulting the community,what worries them is when it rains water fill up this holes now kids go to swim there.
The community ask the local councilor about this unfinished road,open holes the councilor says they dont know what they want,the road is ready be used,they ask for the road,and now what,community decides not to vote for her in the next local election,because she does not care or monitor where she resites.

Digging of the cables

In Bophelong and suroundings areas such as Bonani,Movhango,there is this dangerous old cables which was used in 1940s and 1970s which they did'nt dig it out the ground,they have just installing new one's next to the old.
Now this old cables and new one have brought the community a big problem of giving theft and school leavers a job of diging a cable the whole night and day, to sell it. Sometimes this diggers cut the cables and this cause problems for the community sometimes they stay without electricity,now and then.
Other thing is they dig next to our houses infront of the doors,they gather there,also look around in the yards and insides,what can they take to sell at scrapyards and the same community they live with.
A lady age 50 complain that this group of boys they have steal her blankets on the washing lines when she went to cafe,the community report this to the police and ward 7councilor about the situation they suffer,but till now the is no arrests has been made,we ask everyone who sees this to report immediately,because they are about to take action with this theft they live with in their township and who keep quit that her or his kids does this we will deal with them.

Unsafe Recycling

The is a lot of Unsafe recycling in the township called movhango the new township in vaal triangle in Vanderbijlpark Gauteng Province. The waste pickers goes arround in the communities to collect bottles and plastics and boxes in the informal settlement, bophelong and in Vanderbiljpark. This pickers have their own unfenced yard which they use to break the bottles using bare hand, without wearing any protection which is not safe for their healthy. Community of this areas complains about government not being unable to create jobs opportunities and they say this is the only way they are surving because they have to feed their family.They have asked government to provide them with sides and equipment,and the training while have pick up the waste from their dustbins and streets,what makes this community angry is that when they ask help from government,by means of writing the proposal so that the government can help them,municipality refuse to help them they says they must help themself the is no money.around street corners even insides the yards the are lots of bottles,tins,papers,plastics that they sort it and they like to sell them to make a living,the problem is they use hammers,axes,to break bottles into pioeces,and pack it in the huge bags,so when they money to hire a transport to sell their goods to the legal recyclers such,manpack,collectacan so they feel that this comanies dont goive enough to them even that their staff,not safe because they are just in the open spacew every one take anything they like,theft take willbarrow to steal the goods,to sell to a small recyclers called maseven,is also ascrapyards and now their worry is that they try to accommodate the big staff,they cant because they dont have safe place.
A sad stories about Mr abel Ramogale at extension 5 says that because of not having protective clothing,sunglases,and proper equipment to use,today he is blind on the left eye because of he breaks the bottles,the pieces of bottles comes inside his eyes he was trying to put bread on the table for his kids,and he belives government that if you try to do something they will contibute towards it,what you already started,believe me that government preached empty promises,they build two buildngs,where people of bophelong dump in it,while they say is the municipality is property,when we ask for those building to use it.

Elections Promise

 CALLS FOR THE CLOSURE OF DIRTY AND DANGEROUS STREAMS

Movhango the new Township which was formed since 1994 till 1997 is situated near Goldenhigway in the Gauteng Region at the Vaal in South Africa

At extension 12,13,14 there are still big and deep open stream with dirty water and lots of wastte in it. Community is faced by streams that are very dirty because of the domestic waste and illegal dumping that being brought by commuhnity.

The municipality supposed to collect the waste ones a week,they don't do such thing they collect only at the town because in town is where their big bosses stays,and when big politians visit they starts right at town . One of the residents of the Movhango says they uses this open streams and furrows as their delivery services ,because municipality don’t collect waste and they are not willing to close this scary streams were people are being found dead ,robbed ,kids drowning in this dirty water, trying to swim or playing into this dirty water.

A young man age of 33,he says that the is no problem if they dump inside this streams ,because they don’t see ,the meaning or reason of having open stream so they try to closed it themselves when so they dump inside. He said again that the municipalities they just decorate their new township with dirty water and bad smell of everyday.

The community says now they have lots of waste pickers near their house, they pick any this thing they found even the food, they say they gonna sell the bottles to the companies which are still polluting them such as plastic company near the Golden highway and the food they take for their families. Other woman complain about this situation that their kids see ,poor people picking up food and waste thing next their door they think is a normal thing from this or style of living, while they teaches kids they must take  not take from the the dumping sites or stream

Community wonder what will take our municipality or Government to listen to them or the municipality don’t have to capacity for Township planning ,always they lie to them ,last year the councilor did not want to hear their  problems they try to much ,they’ve been told that municipality have no money ,this year they will elect a new councilor who will need to investigate what happen and must delive. We doin't if they are promising us to solve the situation becauase ANC wants to win election using people's dilemas. and no one, Still poor people suffer the most, no action has been taken by Government to solve the situation, and people are still surrounded by stream near their house that posses danager to their health and environment

THE results  of the relocation brought crime and poverty

The crime is so high at the informal settlement of Donossa and Tanis court, Joko Tea.

The relocation of the people of the rural area and the plots next to Arcerlormittal south Africa  have brought  crime and other social ills in bophelong  and movhang the informal settlement, in these community  people are poor and don’t have jobs and proper accommodation and cannot satisfied their social needs

The people from the informal settlements because they do not have jobs, they started doing crime in the townships of bophelong and movhango they do house braking and robbed people come from work , more especially in winter it get dark quickly these criminals use knives and toy guns to  threatens people they robbed

The most things they want when they robbed they want fancy cell phones the DVD, Microwave, and sell them to the metal scrap to earn an income, they claim to buy food and other social things for their families because of the high unemployment in the area where they live other young man at the ages of 17  says they have saves providers  who gave them the goods to sell which is more drags to other young people  such as dagga and pills  they said these is other means to earn an income while the government says the is no jobs at the labour market , they also used  the medication that are used by people that are HIV make are dragga  that named Nyaope  in the areas of bophelong and movhango. A lady in movhango said that young people hand off the closed in the washing line and sells them to Joko tea informal settlement the sell them very chip e.g.  a t-shirt OF 80 RAND they sell it for about 10 rand and other staff, they will give conflicting statement that they get them from their employers or were they get temporary jobs.

Tanager pregnancy since 1998 in the informal settlement has increased because there are young laddie aged between 9 and 14 who become pregnant in the informal settlement, the is high prostitute in  the area and young ladies sell their body to older  man to get the money  in other to get money they wait next to the street to sell their body’s there are tracks that pass next to  the settlement  and they sell to track driver’s  that pass by

Many children in the area a born without their fathers and theirs without prober family unit, and others their mother are sick most mothers don’t know who their fathers babes  are most of these mothers rely only on the social grant from government

They sell their body’s  for 10 rand if they sleep with them some of them they say that they do such things because they don’t have jobs, others says their mothers put pressure on them, because other children makers other plans to make money

Crises of Joko Tea Squater Camp Continues

 CRISIS OF JOKO TEA SQUATTER CAMP

Joko tea squatter camp is situated in Bophelong near Golden Highwayroad,in Vaal Triangle in Gauteng Province, South africa. The place was named Joko tea becase there was a first supermarket were people of Bophelong were buying croceries named Joko Tea during 1940s. According to T.F Makume and Intombizodwa mtambo the current residents of Joko tea,we were the ex-residents of different plots,such as steel valley,Linkholm,louisrus,Ruitkuil,Rosashof,Suiferpan.We were relocated by Steelvalley and Linkholm saying  all community of the above mentioned plots must leave the area immediatly because it  belongs to Arcerlor Mittal ,they promised to buy land for people who where reallocated in the area called Agri Village and they are going give them R9000 to pay for temporarely accomodation until they build houses for them in Agri Village. 

Arcelor Mittal turned the above mentioned plots the nature reserve while people don’t have accommodationand they have no jobs,and they are sick of their underground water pollution and they air pollution since 1940s till 2000 when they evict them.The bad thing ,there are three families who refuse to move and still living in that polluted  land ,and Mittal say nothing. They only thing that Arcelormittal is doing to this peoiple is to harrase them and their live stock. ArcelorMittal put electricty fence arround the house of remaining families to stop them and their cattles from moving arround.I inteviewewd a grandmother of age 76 who is still waiting for the land and R9000 and now she is sick by pollution,and staying in an illegal place were they share 3 taps collecting water miles and still using pit toilet and they are so congested,and when it ruins ,spring water comes out fill up the shacks ,with dirty water commes from pit toilets and the chemicals from the surrounding coporates ,the water comes in their shacks.

The Joko tea community says the empty promises of Arcelor Mittal brings them the disaster,and now they suffers from the respiratory deseas ,sinusis and their feet swollen.The most complain from the womaman is that when they are pregnant they miscarriages also TB.is the major cause in their daily lifes ,because they live with this bacteries with them ,and the is no one who cares or take their crisis into conciderration u,even the councilor of Bophelong they say they don’t know them ,even the community do not know ward concilors.

And the kids when it rains they playing and swim in this dirty water or you can say sewerage discharge because of this overflowing of the pit toilets ,and the waste which are not been removed ,because is services rendered.community ask Government to assist their kids are dieng of illegal place.