Residents: They promised us ispani, but dololo!

A GROUP of unemployed residents from Elim and surrounding areas in Limpopo are angry and disappointed. 

This after being promised job opportunities that ultimately turned out to be empty promises on Wednesday, 20 September.

The frustrated group gathered at the construction site of the D4 road, from N1 to Elim phase one rehabilitation project, with the hope of securing job opportunities.

On Tuesday, 19 September, a meeting was held at the Njakanjaka Traditional Council with members of the contractor Machabatau Construction which oversees the project.

They were ordered to stop the project with immediate effect by John Ntabeni, the senior headman of the Njakanjaka traditional council.

It is alleged that the project was stopped because of improper hiring and claims that it started without consulting with the traditional council.

Resident Tumelo Mashabatana expressed his frustrations to Daily Sun, explaining that they heard rumours of potential employment on the project site, only to be left disappointed.

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"To make matters worse, the project manager is not aware of our hiring. We feel like we are always left out because even during the construction of Elim Mall, we did not get jobs," he said.

Kasi residents gathered at the construction after they were promised of an empty job opportunity. Photo by Thembi Siaga

Kasi residents gathered at the construction after they were allegedly promised job opportunities. Photo by Thembi Siaga

Daily Sun obtained documents indicating that the contractor had met Hosi Hlekani Mukhari of the Njakanjaka Traditional Council to inform him about the project.

According to Witness Tiva, the spokesman for Public Works, Roads, and Infrastructure, the contractor Machabatau Construction was awarded a R20 million contract. 

"The project commenced on 23 July 2023, with an expected completion date of 20 December 2023," he said.

Ntabeni claimed that they had no prior knowledge of the project and were unaware of the worker hiring process. 

“We suggest that they should've been hired here at the tribal council and we commanded them to stop the project. We want members from all villages in our community to be hired not from one ward or political party to maintain a balance," he said.

Ntabeni also mentioned that they had advised the contractor to return so that they could establish a community structure to facilitate the hiring procedures.

But the ward councilor, Ronny Baloyi, denied all the allegations and clarified that they had hired individuals from the database of unemployed people in the village.

"We hired one person from each village, and we are frustrated that the workers were stopped yesterday," he said.