“We vote for other people to live nice‚” Daniel Makonyane‚ a father of three‚ says despairingly.
His eyes tell a story of a man hard done by socio-economic hardships‚ of a daily struggle for basic necessities to get by and eat.
The 44-year-old jobless man lives alone in Moripe Gardens in the Dr JS Moroka municipality in Mpumalanga‚ surviving on odd jobs that are also hard to come by.
“My wife took the children and moved back with her parents in 2012 because I could not feed them. My children would cry‚ begging me for food‚ but I was helpless‚” he said.
Makonyane‚ 44‚ has a matric and completed short computer and reception courses but had to do undergo security training because that was the only area in which he could find job opportunities.
Still‚ when he does get a security job‚ it does not last more than six months. The last one was in 2014.
“Those six months are also filled with anxiety because some months you do not get paid. I have not worked now for more than three years‚ I am even embarrassed to visit or call my children‚” he said.
Makonyane blames his situation on the governing party‚ the ANC‚ for failing to deliver on its “recycled promises” of job creation.
“People are living large‚ all we see is corruption‚ billions of rands stolen and we go hungry for days‚”
The problem is not that the country is poor and cannot look after its people but that those in power think only for themselves.
“It is not only (Jacob) Zuma. It is the culture of not having the best interests of the country at heart. If you look carefully‚ people still vote ANC because of (Nelson) Mandela.”
Charles Sibanyoni‚ a 45-year-old‚ said people were beginning to realise they have been failed and want change.
“Yes people love the ANC and there are no promising alternatives‚ that is why it keeps winning but there will come a time when everyone is hopeless as we are. What the party did for the country… but can you survive on love?” he said.
Sibanyoni‚ a construction worker‚ was retrenched two years ago‚ when his company laid off people.
“You are poor‚ you think of growing vegetables to eat but then you realise you hardly have water. We go for days without water‚” he said.
‘We vote for other people to live nice’ – unemployed Mpumalanga man bemoans
“We vote for other people to live nice‚” Daniel Makonyane‚ a father of three‚ says despairingly.
His eyes tell a story of a man hard done by socio-economic hardships‚ of a daily struggle for basic necessities to get by and eat.
The 44-year-old jobless man lives alone in Moripe Gardens in the Dr JS Moroka municipality in Mpumalanga‚ surviving on odd jobs that are also hard to come by.
“My wife took the children and moved back with her parents in 2012 because I could not feed them. My children would cry‚ begging me for food‚ but I was helpless‚” he said.
Makonyane‚ 44‚ has a matric and completed short computer and reception courses but had to do undergo security training because that was the only area in which he could find job opportunities.
Still‚ when he does get a security job‚ it does not last more than six months. The last one was in 2014.
“Those six months are also filled with anxiety because some months you do not get paid. I have not worked now for more than three years‚ I am even embarrassed to visit or call my children‚” he said.
Makonyane blames his situation on the governing party‚ the ANC‚ for failing to deliver on its “recycled promises” of job creation.
“People are living large‚ all we see is corruption‚ billions of rands stolen and we go hungry for days‚”
The problem is not that the country is poor and cannot look after its people but that those in power think only for themselves.
“It is not only (Jacob) Zuma. It is the culture of not having the best interests of the country at heart. If you look carefully‚ people still vote ANC because of (Nelson) Mandela.”
Charles Sibanyoni‚ a 45-year-old‚ said people were beginning to realise they have been failed and want change.
“Yes people love the ANC and there are no promising alternatives‚ that is why it keeps winning but there will come a time when everyone is hopeless as we are. What the party did for the country… but can you survive on love?” he said.
Sibanyoni‚ a construction worker‚ was retrenched two years ago‚ when his company laid off people.
“You are poor‚ you think of growing vegetables to eat but then you realise you hardly have water. We go for days without water‚” he said.
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