Wasting the Nation.indd - Groundwork

Chapter 6: Down at the dumpsOn May 22 the reclaimers were summonsed by council to attend a meetingat 8 am on May 23, non-attendance of which, they were informed, would“leave the council with no option but to use its legal process to removeyou out of the dumping site” (letter from L. Thile, Manager Health andCleansing, 22/05/2008). The reclaimers attended the meeting and tried toraise their grievances. They once again refused to sign the contracts. Thepolice were subsequently sent in with dogs and pepper gas to remove them… [T]his was not the first time that the police had been sent in. However,now that the dump was physically enclosed, once the reclaimers wereevicted they were aware that it would be much more difficult to re-enterthe site. In addition, they had not earned any income in the precedingfew weeks due to the standoff with Remade-Phutang, and the police didnot let them take their possessions with them. The combination of thepolice and the fence broke the reclaimers’ ability to continue with theirresistance. One reclaimer eloquently summarized the outcome of what sheperceives as a hard-fought battle stating, “[w]e were chased away by thepolice on a Friday. We came back on Monday to surrender and sign thecontract”.Remade-Phutang and the council officials believe that all the problems are now solved.The reclaimers, however, have a long list of problems. They are getting paid less thanbefore. The promise of transport for their goods to the sorting and buying centre at theentrance to the dump is only kept intermittently. The company has also not providedthe promised access to water and toilets – there are only two toilets and one tap witha trickle of water at the sorting centre. The reclaimers have lost their independence,and the individual contracts are also undermining the collective approach that theyhad developed.Although they meet less frequently now both Ditamating and Ikagengcontinue to meet and try to strategize their next moves. They are woundedand bitter. They had believed the ANC campaign slogan and expected a“better life for all” with the advent of democracy. However, they report thatthey have lost faith in council and are tired of knocking on endless doorsand not being taken seriously by the Council … Members of Ditamatingobserved that the imposition of Remade-Phutang not only compromisedtheir rights as citizens to participate in the policy process, but alsoundermined their ability to fulfil their obligations as citizens noting that,Wasting the Nation - groundWork - 171 -