Sisters Helen Ngala and Sarah Mafa and their children have been stranded on a tea plantation in Magoebaskloof near Tzaneen in Limpopo since they lost their jobs in 2013.
Ngala, 53, and Mafa, 57, were among the first group of about 400 workers laid off from the tea estate which until its recent closure was run by Mununzwu, a subsidiary company of the Limpopo Economic Development Agency (Leda).
Leda was assisting the Makgoba community, which owns the land, to manage the estate.
The community has disputed the closure despite explanations by Leda that it could not carry on with the tea project due to operational challenges and a scarcity of investors.
The sisters, who together with their children and grandchildren make up a family of 14, could not secure other jobs after being told the company could not afford to keep them.
They now stay at the Middelkop workers' village on the estate high on the lush hills of the Magoebaskloof Valley overlooking the vast expanse of tea fields.
"We were told there were no funds to pay workers. But we stayed because we had nowhere else to go. There have been no other jobs until now," Ngala said.
Ngala recalled the 1980s when the tea estate was fully operational and there was plenty of work.
Mafa said even their parents before them had worked on that land. "Life is hard now. But we're going to die here, because it is the only home we know," she said.
Mafa said even putting her children through school was a struggle.
Her 19-year-old son, who is studying engineering at a college in Polokwane, was almost kicked out from his accommodation because she could not afford to pay.
Meanwhile, William Monyama, one of the last workers to lose their jobs, said he had watched as some of his former colleagues packed their things and left.
But Monyama has decided to stay on in the hope of finding work at one of the surrounding farms.
"I'm still in the dark and I don't know which way to go. It's a serious disaster because my children have to eat. Most of the workers are stranded here," he said.
Community leader Prince Makgoba said since 2013 workers were gradually laid off as the project failed to take off, leading to the suffering of many families.
Makgoba said conditions on the farm also started to deteriorate because the few remaining workers could not keep up with the maintenance.
"The contamination of the fields worsened when they started laying people off. The remaining 26 people tried their best to maintain [the farm]. Now it's going to get worse. There is no one and we will be in trouble," he said.
mahopoz@sowetan.co.za
Estate staff left in limbo
Sisters Helen Ngala and Sarah Mafa and their children have been stranded on a tea plantation in Magoebaskloof near Tzaneen in Limpopo since they lost their jobs in 2013.
Ngala, 53, and Mafa, 57, were among the first group of about 400 workers laid off from the tea estate which until its recent closure was run by Mununzwu, a subsidiary company of the Limpopo Economic Development Agency (Leda).
Leda was assisting the Makgoba community, which owns the land, to manage the estate.
The community has disputed the closure despite explanations by Leda that it could not carry on with the tea project due to operational challenges and a scarcity of investors.
The sisters, who together with their children and grandchildren make up a family of 14, could not secure other jobs after being told the company could not afford to keep them.
They now stay at the Middelkop workers' village on the estate high on the lush hills of the Magoebaskloof Valley overlooking the vast expanse of tea fields.
"We were told there were no funds to pay workers. But we stayed because we had nowhere else to go. There have been no other jobs until now," Ngala said.
Ngala recalled the 1980s when the tea estate was fully operational and there was plenty of work.
Mafa said even their parents before them had worked on that land. "Life is hard now. But we're going to die here, because it is the only home we know," she said.
Mafa said even putting her children through school was a struggle.
Her 19-year-old son, who is studying engineering at a college in Polokwane, was almost kicked out from his accommodation because she could not afford to pay.
Meanwhile, William Monyama, one of the last workers to lose their jobs, said he had watched as some of his former colleagues packed their things and left.
But Monyama has decided to stay on in the hope of finding work at one of the surrounding farms.
"I'm still in the dark and I don't know which way to go. It's a serious disaster because my children have to eat. Most of the workers are stranded here," he said.
Community leader Prince Makgoba said since 2013 workers were gradually laid off as the project failed to take off, leading to the suffering of many families.
Makgoba said conditions on the farm also started to deteriorate because the few remaining workers could not keep up with the maintenance.
"The contamination of the fields worsened when they started laying people off. The remaining 26 people tried their best to maintain [the farm]. Now it's going to get worse. There is no one and we will be in trouble," he said.
mahopoz@sowetan.co.za
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