THREE families from Cottondale outside Acornhoek, Mpumalanga, are living in extreme poverty.
Their situation is so bad the mums are even risking their lives by walking through the bushes looking for firewood to cook. The SunTeam spotted single mums Anitjie Mhangana (39), Thobile Mathebula (31) and Luzile Mogale (59), carrying their babies on their backs and pushing loaded wheelbarrows of firewood.
Luzile said they were driven by poverty to collect firewood in the bushes as they could no longer afford to buy electricity.
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“I live with five children in a mud house. We applied for a RDP house several times, with no success. We survive on my three children’s grants.
“But it doesn’t last long. We are aware of the thugs stalking us in the bushes. But we have no other choice,” she said.
Anitjie said she gets firewood daily.
“I am raising my kids alone. I was job hunting for a long time, with no luck. I want to at least build a house and buy enough food because the R960 grant for my two kids is too little. That is why you see us fetching firewood so we can boil water and prepare lunch for our kids,” she said.
Thobile said she and her three kids do not receive any social grants as they don’t have IDs and birth certificates.
She said the problem started when her late mum had a brawl with her dad’s lover and the fight led to the lover throwing the mum’s ID into a toilet pit. She said they don’t have a house and squeeze into a pint-sized shack.
“Life is very tough as we are living in extreme poverty. The village hasn’t had running water for years. We buy water for R6 per 20 litre and buying electricity and food is a serious problem. We sometimes sleep in the dark.”
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Bushbuckridge Municipality spokeswoman Fhumulani Thovhakale said the municipality provides free basic electricity, water and sanitation. “Communities must contact councillors who will complete indigent forms so they benefit from these services. We’re checking with our technical team for RDP allocations and the application process,” said Thovhakale.
Mpumalanga social development spokesman Centie Ngubane said they referred the matter to their Bushbuckridge office.
