Yesterday's daily paper had a picture and a story that gave me another new view of South Africa. The article told of retirees who need to risk drowning each month when they are forced to cross a raging, crocodile-inhabited river to collect their old-age pensions. The elderly, school children and mothers carrying children have for years braved the river as the nearest bridge is more that 45 km away. A week ago an eight year old schoolgirl drowned while crossing the river to attend a school activity.
For years these people have been pleading for a footbridge. That plea has not been answered. So now the grannies form a human chain and roll their clothes up before crossing the river. The journey does not stop when they have braved the crossing as they then must walk another 10 km to reach the pay point. One of the women was quoted as saying: "We better be eaten by the crocodiles than stay at home without collecting our pension. Others stay with orphans here and they have to collect child support grants to ensure that there is food for the children in the house."
The local mayor was "shocked" to hear from the newspaper of the retiree's plight. He said that he would have asked for social development assistance for help.
Cecilia's comment: The mayor not knowing about the local situation is the only part of the situation that I had known something about. The officials of townships are not local people, but appointees of the ruling political party who may live a great distance from the area they are supposed to serve.
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