A tragedy at Emvutjini, a periurban area of Mbabane
Question:
The whites are obviously to blame for this.I wonder if their situation will improve once the infrastructure left behind by the evil whites are completely destroyed,when south africa is completely pillaged and looted like the rest of africa. Should have taken some pictures and send it into the rest of the gullible white world. Sure it will bring in a couple of dollars. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – message This is indeed the tragedy. Not just in Swaziland but in the whole of Southern Africa. A culture which requires the continual birth of children for whom there is no hope of a decent future. Two centuries ago, or less, there was a reason for this because famine, drought and internecine warfare made sure that the actual population growth was limited. The developments in medcine, food availability and freedom from attack by neighbours, have certainly been beneficial, but they have also carried with them a problem which seems too big for any, or all, of the governments in the region to tackle effectively. The key to this problem is in education. Not health or reproductive rights education. An education which goes beyond mere literacy (not that I have a problem with "mere" literacy) and impacts on people’s social perceptions. It depends on free and compulsory education to a level beyond that of basic literacy. Hopefully South Africa will reach this place in the next decade or two.
If population reproduction carries on at it’s present rate – and Aids reduces the productive sector of the population, in two decades this will be a total disaster area. It is not nice to say so, but the incidence of poverty in Southern Africa can only be laid at one door. As to the concept of family planning … it is not a short term solution. Twenty years ago we were having the same sort of conversations. A generation has come and gone since then. The only place that family planning has been shown to be effective is within the educated community. Very few university graduates have large families, regardless of their ethnic origins, their line of study, their cultural habitat etc.
Exactly, and time is a luxury which we do not have. Mark Richardson
Response:
snip… However, when one looks at Cosatu’s record, which has more to do with the destruction than construction of jobs and a good life for those at the top of the heap, one has to look at their intentions with a jaundiced eye.
On what basis do you make this statement? Just curious. George M. Carter
Response:
message – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – This is indeed the tragedy. Not just in Swaziland but in the whole of Southern Africa. A culture which requires the continual birth of children for whom there is no hope of a decent future. Two centuries ago, or less, there was a reason for this because famine, drought and internecine warfare made sure that the actual population growth was limited. The developments in medcine, food availability and freedom from attack by neighbours, have certainly been beneficial, but they have also carried with them a problem which seems too big for any, or all, of the governments in the region to tackle effectively.
The key to this problem is in education. Not health or reproductive rights education. An education which goes beyond mere literacy (not that I have a problem with "mere" literacy) and impacts on people’s social perceptions. It depends on free and compulsory education to a level beyond that of basic literacy. Hopefully South Africa will reach this place in the next decade or two. < Snipped (Actually, I wrote this a few weeks back for another journal, but all the children in the family were placed into Swaziland’s brand new, second, orphanage, down in the south of Swaziland yesterday. I’m ecstatic!) Good for you. I mean that sincerely, but how many others are still out there?
Well, Swaziland has a population of about one million. 66% of them live on less than R71-00 a month. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – You may have read reports on infant mortality on the Mount Frere District, which were published last week. It is reported to have the highest rate of infant mortality and malnutrition in the country and what Moira has written about, in microcosm, is there repeated on a major scale. No one can turn a blind eye to this sort of suffering, but one has to ask what is being done to tackle the root cause of the problem, which is a lack of any sort of family planning. They say that copulation is the only pleasure the poorest of the poor can afford, but I wonder if the country can keep on affording it.
Missed the report. I’ve seen some of this infant mortality and malnutrition, both as a paramedic serving on community ambulances and as a missionary in a clinic/home based care environment. As to the concept of family planning … it is not a short term solution. Twenty years ago we were having the same sort of conversations. A generation has come and gone since then. The only place that family planning has been shown to be effective is within the educated community. Very few university graduates have large families, regardless of their ethnic origins, their line of study, their cultural habitat etc. Moira, the Faerie Godmother
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – The tragedy of a poverty stricken forty five year old woman dying in childbirth with her tenth delivery, that of twin daughters, Dudu and Duduzile, is one to which nearly every one can relate. One would hope that these kinds of reports would galvanize good public policy. Unfortunately, the corruption and greed that characterizes the South African government will undoubtedly have a deleterious effect on Swaziland. See another horrifying report below. George M. Carter *** By Roger Ronnie SAMWU General Secretary Published in the "Sowetan" Newspaper 15th August 2001 The South African government has joined the governments of the rest of Africa, who, with little experience, are scrambling to attract investors and to privatise. There are very few people who can figure out why the government is doing this. Privatisation of water certainly doesn’t empower anybody – there are only four European multinationals that have the monopoly worldwide on water for profit. One of these, French Vivendi, has recently started putting up water prices in the poorest countries of the world because they need extra cash to inject into a Hollywood studio they acquired recently. The ANC government is pushing the workers of South Africa into strike action at the end of this month. As workers of this country and members of impoverished communities, we are determined to fight for affordable, good quality water good delivered on the basis of need and not profit.
In any developing country privatisation of water supplies is illogical because it is one of the areas into which resources can be directed, in order to build infrastructure, whilst at the same time creating employment. Private water authorities are going to go where the profits are and not where large scale capital investment will be required in order to provide essential supplies at break-even, or subsidised rates. However, when one looks at Cosatu’s record, which has more to do with the destruction than construction of jobs and a good life for those at the top of the heap, one has to look at their intentions with a jaundiced eye. Radebe in a press conference, yesterday, or the day before, is obviously concerned (for his own ease and comfort of course) that what Cosatu are now doing is firing the first shots in a new "revolutionary" movement. Cosatu were the single most effective weapon in the ANC’s "struggle armoury" and if, as in so many other historical instances, the actual force of the revolution feel that they have been sidelined and unless they have been eliminated, they will pick up where they left off before. I do not believe that Cosatu, in power, would be any more able to manage state enterprises than the ANC has been up to now and so, whilst I agree with opposition to the concept of privatisation, I do not gain any comfort from who it is that is doing the opposing. What we need is efficiently run state enterprises, where these are essential to the development of an infrastructure which is still in need of development, not merely a change of one set of incompetents for another. Mark Richardson Mark Richardson
Response:
The tragedy of a poverty stricken forty five year old woman dying in childbirth with her tenth delivery, that of twin daughters, Dudu and Duduzile, is one to which nearly every one can relate. The aftermath of the tragedy is somewhat more difficult to imagine. The father of the children is seventy years old, confused with grief, and possibly age related malnutrition and lack of stimulation. The children at home are seven, six, four, three years of age, plus the twin girls, newborn. The children are looking after the babies. There is no income for the family.
This is indeed the tragedy. Not just in Swaziland but in the whole of Southern Africa. A culture which requires the continual birth of children for whom there is no hope of a decent future. Two centuries ago, or less, there was a reason for this because famine, drought and internecine warfare made sure that the actual population growth was limited. The developments in medcine, food availability and freedom from attack by neighbours, have certainly been beneficial, but they have also carried with them a problem which seems too big for any, or all, of the governments in the region to tackle effectively. < Snipped (Actually, I wrote this a few weeks back for another journal, but all the children in the family were placed into Swaziland’s brand new, second, orphanage, down in the south of Swaziland yesterday. I’m ecstatic!)
Good for you. I mean that sincerely, but how many others are still out there? You may have read reports on infant mortality on the Mount Frere District, which were published last week. It is reported to have the highest rate of infant mortality and malnutrition in the country and what Moira has written about, in microcosm, is there repeated on a major scale. No one can turn a blind eye to this sort of suffering, but one has to ask what is being done to tackle the root cause of the problem, which is a lack of any sort of family planning. They say that copulation is the only pleasure the poorest of the poor can afford, but I wonder if the country can keep on affording it. Mark Richardson
Response:
The tragedy of a poverty stricken forty five year old woman dying in childbirth with her tenth delivery, that of twin daughters, Dudu
and Why, I ask with tears in my eyes, every time there is an African "tragedy", it involves mothers who have eight or more children?
Because, in a subsistance rural setting, it is *true* that children equal wealth. Because, in cases where bride price (lobolo) has been paid for a woman, her reproductive rights have been sold along with the rest of her body. Because health care and reproductive health measures are not generally available to poverty strickent women. We are constantly witness to TV images of starving African stick Women with dozens of stick children hanging off them like grapes… Perhaps if they did not breed like rabbits they would have enough food to feed themselves?
This is only true of urban, educated women. It’s not true for rural, uneducated women – 78% of Swaziland’s population. I walked down to the river and then up to that homestead from the road. A woman in labour, who had no access to a car had no chance of reaching medical attention. She probably had no antenatal care, and she probably had no access to family planning. Moira, the Faerie Godmother
Response:
The tragedy of a poverty stricken forty five year old woman dying in childbirth with her tenth delivery, that of twin daughters, Dudu and
Why, I ask with tears in my eyes, every time there is an African "tragedy", it involves mothers who have eight or more children? We are constantly witness to TV images of starving African stick Women with dozens of stick children hanging off them like grapes… Perhaps if they did not breed like rabbits they would have enough food to feed themselves?
Response:
The tragedy of a poverty stricken forty five year old woman dying in childbirth with her tenth delivery, that of twin daughters, Dudu and Duduzile, is one to which nearly every one can relate.
One would hope that these kinds of reports would galvanize good public policy. Unfortunately, the corruption and greed that characterizes the South African government will undoubtedly have a deleterious effect on Swaziland. See another horrifying report below. George M. Carter *** By Roger Ronnie SAMWU General Secretary Published in the "Sowetan" Newspaper 15th August 2001 The South African government has joined the governments of the rest of Africa, who, with little experience, are scrambling to attract investors and to privatise. There are very few people who can figure out why the government is doing this. Privatisation of water certainly doesn’t empower anybody – there are only four European multinationals that have the monopoly worldwide on water for profit. One of these, French Vivendi, has recently started putting up water prices in the poorest countries of the world because they need extra cash to inject into a Hollywood studio they acquired recently. So why would our government sell off our water, which already most of us cannot afford to pay for? Does the government feel that it’s okay if what we pay the private water companies (coming soon) gets used to subsidise new blockbuster movies? Maybe they do. If so, they are not alone. They have a rather large and powerful ally – the World Bank. The Bank universally promotes privatisation, using the one-size-fits-all framework, which has dominated their policies for decades. They succeed in getting governments to privatise by either using strong arm tactics, like threatening to withhold future loans or making privatisation a conditionality for loans or debt relief that is needed right away. This has been their practice across Africa, but in South Africa it was much easier for the World Bank because the ANC government simply invited them to write the whole economic policy, GEAR, instead. So they didn’t need any threats or force. In Europe, water privatisation has been failing for decades, and in several towns water has been "re-municipalised" or taken back from whichever multinational messed up the service. In Africa, although water privatisation is not that old a practice, recent research conducted by London-based Greenwich University’s Public Service International Research Unit uncovered that where water was privatised, it was as disastrous as the European experience. The people of Nairobi, Kenya, for example, were forced to fork out over R160 million when Nairobi’s water was privatised to French multinational Generales Des Eaux. Soon after the company privatised, they decided to install a new, and not budgeted for, R1.5 billion billing and revenue collection service. Although the Mayor complained, the company proceeded and put water prices up by 40% in order to pay for the new system. During this time, 3 500 municipal workers were replaced by 45 foreign staff who earned massive salaries from a total R13.6 million in the second year of the contract, rising to R31.2 million per year by the end of the contract. Just a week after this greed was exposed, the World Bank told the Kenyan government that it should privatise all the roads in the country. Typically of the World Bank, they announced that nine months of research to be conducted by themselves would be followed by the appointment of a World Bank consultant but that private companies should start sending in their bids immediately! This is what the ANC government is doing – deciding to privatise before finding out whether it is a good idea or not. Privatisation of water was also bad for the poor of Guinea. Before privatisation in 1989, fewer than 40 percent of the urban population had access to piped water. The government was short of funds and needed donor finance. Private participation was a condition of World Bank lending. The workforce was cut almost in half from 504 employees to 290 and right after privatisation, water prices were increased. The connection rate only rose by 9% in 7 years leaving over 30% of Guineans still without water. The high price of water meant people could not afford to get connected – it was difficult for even wealthy people to pay. (Prices in Guinea are higher than average in Africa and Latin America.) There is a public sector alternative to privatising water, which clearly does not work in any case. In South Africa, this public sector alternative is legislated in the Water Services Act. The Act says that other service providers, such as multinationals, should only be brought in when all known public providers have been exhausted and found unwilling or incapable of doing the job. Another agreement was signed in 1998 between local government and the trade unions for the public sector to be considered as the provider of first choice. It concurs with national legislation that the public sector is the preferred deliverer of services and specifies that involvement of the private sector in service delivery should only be a very last resort–if there is no public sector provider willing or able to provide the service. However, the privatisation of water in Johannesburg, Nelspruit and Dolphin Coast has been implemented in breach of these guidelines. Technically water privatisation is unlawful in these three places. It seems that laws and legal agreements are not worth the paper they are written on. The government is still wasting money enriching the European multinationals at the expense of the poor. For example, the Portuguese government financed the building of a new water treatment plant in Matsulu, Nelspruit. The South African government constructed it, and will operate it for one year. After this it will be given as a gift to the multinational which is currently increasing prices in Nelspruit, even though this company contributed nothing to the project. The ANC government is adamant that the people of South Africa will be forced to follow the path of hardship trod by masses in other African countries who have been subjected to Structural Adjustment Programmes. The people of Mozambique were forced to submit to privatisation at the end of 1999, after the country was told it would only be eligible for debt relief if they agreed to sell off 70% of their water to European multinationals. One of the multinationals is IPE from Portugal, the former coloniser of Mozambique. Liberation movement governments are bringing colonisation back into fashion through their constant capitulation to the World Bank’s privatisation. Similarly in Cameroon, last year, Suez Lyonnaise was selected as sole bidder to acquire majority stake in the state water company for 20 years. This privatisation had to be rushed through in order for Cameroon to qualify for debt relief from the WB and IMF. The water of Tanzania, Lagos in Nigeria, Ghana, and Congo is currently up for sale. Community organisations in Ghana recently invited South African trade unionists and community leaders to help formulate an anti-privatisation campaign in that country, now known as the Ghana National Coalition Against the Privatization of Water or the "CAP of Water". Yet where the World Bank has funded some rural water schemes in Ghana, these have failed because the Bank demanded that rural communities pay an upfront cash amount towards constructing the water systems. "The policy has resulted in excluding poor communities incapable of paying from enjoying their right to consume portable water," says the CAP of Water. There is overwhelming evidence that privatisation of water does nothing except line the pockets of the four major multinationals who dominate the world market. The companies themselves make no pretence that they want to deliver a decent service to the community. For example, Biwater which privatised Nelspruit’s water, withdrew from a Zimbabwean water privatisation project when it became clear that citizens could not pay the tariffs that would be required for Biwater to make a profit. The ANC government is pushing the workers of South Africa into strike action at the end of this month. As workers of this country and members of impoverished communities, we are determined to fight for affordable, good quality water good delivered on the basis of need and not profit. …./ends — :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Lori Pottinger, Director, Southern Africa Program, and Editor, World Rivers Review International Rivers Network <’})))< 1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA Tel. (510) 848 1155 Fax (510) 848 1008 http://www.irn.org
Response:
The tragedy of a poverty stricken forty five year old woman dying in childbirth with her tenth delivery, that of twin daughters, Dudu and Duduzile, is one to which nearly every one can relate. The aftermath of the tragedy is somewhat more difficult to imagine. The father of the children is seventy years old, confused with grief, and possibly age related malnutrition and lack of stimulation. The children at home are seven, six, four, three years of age, plus the twin girls, newborn. The children are looking after the babies. There is no income for the family. Our community care nurses take me down to the homestead to see for myself. We negotiate in a two-wheel drive a road which has me gasping in fear for our safety and admiration at the driver’s vehicle handling skill and daring. Fortunately it is dry, because only a 4×4 could handle that track in the wet. Eventually we are forced to stop the vehicle on the track because there is no place to park it and further driving would be suicidal. It is unlikely that another vehicle would want to use the track in the hour or so that we will be away, and if one does it will simply have to wait. We then set off to the homestead, each of the nurses carrying boxes of clothes, blankets and food on their heads, in the traditional African style. We cross a little river which must become quite awesome in the wet season and eventually make our way through various dwellings to our client. None of these dwellings have any form of fencing separating them – or their chickens and goats – from their neighbours! Children hold emaciated dogs back from rushing off to investigate the visitors, even though the dogs look just as dispirited and hungry as their owners. The community care nurse points out the two year old who has a grossly deformed mouth as a result of an operation to drain an abscess on the face. I want to ask if the operation was performed in a hospital, or by some medicine man or woman in the community, but I get sidetracked by the greetings of the whole family. The bottom line is that there’s no money to repair the damage. The babies look like little spiders, their tiny bodies flanked by thin, spindly limbs. A kind person has donated some infant formula, but we discover that the formula is being made up at the rate of five teaspoons to a kettle of water in an attempt to make it last longer. Poor babies, no wonder their father reports they cry all night! I survey the diapers, or "nappies" as they are called here, on the line. Thin squares of cotton that originally started life as dresses or curtains. The seven year old boy washes these. No advertisement for washing powder could ever use these to show what a wonder it can work. We’ve brought some disposables with us, but they cannot last long. The children are given some chocolates, and I wonder when they last had a proper meal. The remnants of a fire are still warm, but I suspect that it was for boiling water, as I see no evidence of pots which recently held food. The maizemeal, sugar, beans, rice, candles, matches, lentils, salt and soap which we brought with us will be welcome gifts. Arrangements are being made for the babies to be placed in Swaziland ’s only orphanage, but I cannot help worrying about what will happen to this family until then. (Actually, I wrote this a few weeks back for another journal, but all the children in the family were placed into Swaziland’s brand new, second, orphanage, down in the south of Swaziland yesterday. I’m ecstatic!) Moira, the Faerie Godmother
Response:
Filed under: Strike action
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