South Africa, Creche Legal Dispute, May 2007
The following report was sent at their request to a natural rural women umbrella group that helped facilitate the World Rural Women Convention in Durban in late April. It is the story of the dispute between the local municipality in the Breede River Winelands Municipal area, Western Cape, South Africa, and the Rural Women Association. The legal suit was recently withdrawn from the court rolls at High Court Capetown. Herewith for your information:
“Dulcie Winegaard has asked me to send you a written report on the dispute at Montagu, West Cape, between the Breede River Winelands Municipality (BRWM) and the Rural Women Association (RWA).
As Project Manager and Treasurer for RWA, I have assisted “Auntie” Dulcie for three years supporting her efforts in poverty recovery and self-empowerment for the still disadvantaged citizens of Montagu living in the two townships, and in our local informal, and severely poor shack settlement.
In late 2006 at the beginning of the agricultural harvest season, Dulcie was shocked to see that at the Mandela Square shack settlement, many young infants and toddlers were left somewhat attended in the care of young boys or girls who themselves should have been in school.
You will be able to see pictures of the settlement, the ECD & Crèche, and most importantly the children who represent some of those left without adult supervision, displayed at the following internet site:
http://picasaweb.google.com/solinusj/RuralWomenAssociationSouthAfrica
Many meetings and discussions were subsequently held with the residents of the settlement and following these, RWA decided to support members of the community in the building of a crèche shack. Because it was intended as a shack, and since shacks have been built on this site for many years, many by homeless families being sent there by the municipality, as often as not from the local dump site, there was no question of requesting permission or presenting building plans for construction. Such permission would never have been granted. Even in the largest of the three disadvantaged communities of Montagu, Ashbury, our local municipality has refused to negotiate the development of a soup kitchen/security complex, although a lease is in place with the municipality for the lot. Further the lot was fenced, professional building plans created, and submission for approval delivered, all at great expense to RWA.
Additionally, plans had been submitted for two vegetable stalls to promote economic self empowerment, and a community market garden, all in support of members in our active 150 house gardens which includes three community gardens in a food security program called Huis Tuintjies. RWA also submitted a proposal for a women and small children’s park, and a second crèche specializing in FAS children, all of which have been ignored, now for over 18 months and regardless of repeated requests for negotiation and discussion. It may be noted that in all of these projects mentioned above, RWA was requesting “permission”, not funds. RWA already had sponsorship in place, notably the Cape Winelands District Municipality, and the Rotary Club of the Breede River Winelands.
The ECD Crèche Shack was completed two weeks prior to the urgent application by then Municipal Manager Nico Nel, which was applying for a court order against RWA to cease and desist from building, and further to have RWA, Dulcie and I, charged with a criminal offence. It was obvious even then that this was an attempt on the part of a clique of officials who have fought Dulcie for years, to bankrupt and hopefully destroy RWA’s ability to succeed with its programs in Montagu and elsewhere in the Breede River Winelands.
In a meeting that Dulcie and I held with Cape Winelands official Ewnis Delport, former assistant to executive Mayor Clarence Johnson of Cape Winelands District Municipality (Boland), we were told that in 2006 the BRWM had attempted to shut down our food security program, Huis Tuintjies. If anything clearly reveals the local municipality’s intent, and indifference to the poor, this pressure on the District to withdraw RWA’s successful food security funding certainly does. Additionally, in submitting the application to High Court, Manager Nel, with many years experience, contravened a direct responsibility and requirement stipulated in the Municipal Financial Management Act to consult with and receive Council approval before taking such action, something he obviously felt he wouldn’t get, in that the present council is ANC.
Our ECD Crèche Shack held an official opening on March 21st, Human Rights Day, 2007, but we decided the doors could not be opened to the children following a call from the municipality’s lawyer in Capetown that we were to do nothing further else we would be in contravention of a court order. Coming from a legal background, I’m not sure his advice was correct, rather meant to be intimidating. The court order was for RWA, Dulcie and myself to appear and answer to the charges, and was a preliminary application before the High Court, in other words, not a done deal. His firm also sent me a preliminary bill (which he has since asked I tear up as he doesn’t ‘want anyone but his client to see it’, something I won’t do) for R14, 000, for phone calls and advocate advice. We saw it immediately as intimidation and ignored it. All along Dulcie and I were confident we would win. I have sixty letters on my computer of correspondence showing a pattern of indifference from the municipality and even material that could be considered intentional obstruction or conspiracy. It is the obstruction which I’ve experienced in nearly seven years of contact with BRWM that I feel was their true intent. And it is too easy to say it was simply attempts on their part to limit interest, and thus votes in the ANC, although we believe this was a significant part of their seemingly deliberate inaction and interference over the years.
However, that week following Human Rights Day, and during school holidays, we had three daytime child rapes while the single parent was working, two girls age five and one aged six who is still in hospital, one from Mandela Square, the other two from Ashbury and Fresh Air/Sunnyside. As both Dulcie and I are parents of numerous loved children and do feel we have a responsibility to our communities, we were stunned and felt we had been wrong to hesitate opening, so the decision was made to open regardless of the court order. We are open to this day with about 25 children, now mostly young, toddlers and infants, as our six older children who had not previously been going to school before entering our ECD, were transferred to formal school last week.
RWA on a shoestring budget, and without any form of government funding at this time, hired a professional teacher, Jesica October and two Creche leaders, Tammy Swartbooi and Gloria Cayiya. In addition we feed the children a hot daily noon meal. Our hours, because of funds shortage are between 9 am and 1 pm. The Huis Tuintjie (House Garden) program has established two community gardens in the Mandela Square Settlement, from which daily vegetables will continue to be drawn to feed the children and staff.
I will digress if I may, to give you a little history of the struggle to address the needs of the disadvantaged citizens living in the three poverty communities of Montagu, especially since Dulcie’s founding of RWA in early 2004. Dulcie, as you know has always and proudly been an activist struggling to improve the lives of the poor. In the last local municipal administration (Breede River Winelands Municipality) Dulcie was not only ANC, but the first black woman elected to Council at a time in which Montagu was still operating as though 1994 had not happened. She is not well liked by the established order in our community and has been stymied at virtually every turn by those who don’t want change, who don’t accept that we have a New South Africa, and who privately state that services should not be given to certain people, otherwise it will encourage more of ‘them’ to come here.
I think you have a copy of Dulcie’s “Have Your Say”, however I am attaching a copy of it with this report for your records. It shows, I believe, why there has been a build up over the years of established hatreds for Dulcie and her stance on behalf of the poor. The local superintendent of SAPS, a friend, reported to me three years ago that he was concerned I was now working with Dulcie, that she was a ‘troublemaker’. Ironically, that intrigued me, rather than dissuading my participation.
Dulcie’s cry is however, “What About The Children”?
Because of the now historic split in the provincial ANC in January, 2006, where Premier Rasool was nearly defeated and the ‘South Africa for Africans’ contingent took control, (as compared to ‘South Africa for All’) Dulcie, who was at the time head of the ANC list for the Breede River Winelands and destined to be Exec Mayor, was effectively dumped from the ANC. She decided then she was finished with politics and that concentrating on improving the lives of the poor was her first priority anyway, something politicians largely seem incompetent about or indifferent to. During her Councillorship she had established Rural Women Association and requested my help. At the time I was chairperson of the Montagu Abused Women and Children’s Trust establishing and overseeing the Victim Support Room at the South Africa Police Service (SAPS) station at Montagu.
Since then Dulcie and her active board of directors have worked on over 26 programs and we are all proud that our Huis Tuintjies is now in McGregor, Saron, Paarl and Tousrivier, and our ‘litter clean’ feeding program is in Bonnievale.
As you know the case before High Court was withdrawn following considerable legal expense, on Friday, the 11th, prior to our scheduled appearance on Monday the 14th. We were definitely tempted to continue the fight, which effectively would have revolved around the BRWM’s failure to supply decent services to the poor, and possibly that there was a conspiracy amongst the established officials to purposefully stymie RWA’s attempts to improve life within the poor communities. I felt we had the evidence to show an ongoing pattern of indifference and obstruction. However, the monetary concern was greatest in our mind as R3 (approximately 25 cents US) feeds a child or adult a hot nutritious meal in our various feeding programs. We were looking at legal costs which would otherwise supply tens of thousands of meals.
Dulcie’s argument for supervising the building of the shack is simple. She said to me: “I must enforce both national and provincial policy in this matter since the BRWM isn’t capable.”
.
Of final note, it should be recognized that we received no support from our local ANC Council. They effectively left us with no choice but to go over their head. As a result, the Boland District or regional municipality, CWDM under Clarence Johnson, went to bat for us and the application was withdrawn on the last possible day prior to court, the day when final papers had to be filed.
What does the future present? We are not sure. The ‘clique’ in BRWM has lost its head, in that Nico Nel, the former Municipal Manager who lodged the application has now been replaced. We are however, concerned the remaining older officials will continue to stymie us where they can, that the local council will not support us as was evidenced in this dispute. We’ve written the Exec Mayor, John Ngonyama and the new Municipal Manager, who was himself willing to listen, and who signed the withdrawal papers, that we wish to meet and discuss the prospective programs I’ve referred to above. Our hope naturally is that the municipality will now cooperate and negotiate with RWA.
All along we’ve been saying to this municipality. Why not work with RWA? Our successes will be your successes.
Wish us luck, and keep us in your prayers.
Solinus Jolliffe, Treasurer, Project Manager
Rural Women Association, Montagu
“What About The Children”?
See Blog titled “A Squatter Camp History, South Africa” which is referred to above as “Have Your Say”.
“Dulcie Winegaard has asked me to send you a written report on the dispute at Montagu, West Cape, between the Breede River Winelands Municipality (BRWM) and the Rural Women Association (RWA).
As Project Manager and Treasurer for RWA, I have assisted “Auntie” Dulcie for three years supporting her efforts in poverty recovery and self-empowerment for the still disadvantaged citizens of Montagu living in the two townships, and in our local informal, and severely poor shack settlement.
In late 2006 at the beginning of the agricultural harvest season, Dulcie was shocked to see that at the Mandela Square shack settlement, many young infants and toddlers were left somewhat attended in the care of young boys or girls who themselves should have been in school.
You will be able to see pictures of the settlement, the ECD & Crèche, and most importantly the children who represent some of those left without adult supervision, displayed at the following internet site:
http://picasaweb.google.com/solinusj/RuralWomenAssociationSouthAfrica
Many meetings and discussions were subsequently held with the residents of the settlement and following these, RWA decided to support members of the community in the building of a crèche shack. Because it was intended as a shack, and since shacks have been built on this site for many years, many by homeless families being sent there by the municipality, as often as not from the local dump site, there was no question of requesting permission or presenting building plans for construction. Such permission would never have been granted. Even in the largest of the three disadvantaged communities of Montagu, Ashbury, our local municipality has refused to negotiate the development of a soup kitchen/security complex, although a lease is in place with the municipality for the lot. Further the lot was fenced, professional building plans created, and submission for approval delivered, all at great expense to RWA.
Additionally, plans had been submitted for two vegetable stalls to promote economic self empowerment, and a community market garden, all in support of members in our active 150 house gardens which includes three community gardens in a food security program called Huis Tuintjies. RWA also submitted a proposal for a women and small children’s park, and a second crèche specializing in FAS children, all of which have been ignored, now for over 18 months and regardless of repeated requests for negotiation and discussion. It may be noted that in all of these projects mentioned above, RWA was requesting “permission”, not funds. RWA already had sponsorship in place, notably the Cape Winelands District Municipality, and the Rotary Club of the Breede River Winelands.
The ECD Crèche Shack was completed two weeks prior to the urgent application by then Municipal Manager Nico Nel, which was applying for a court order against RWA to cease and desist from building, and further to have RWA, Dulcie and I, charged with a criminal offence. It was obvious even then that this was an attempt on the part of a clique of officials who have fought Dulcie for years, to bankrupt and hopefully destroy RWA’s ability to succeed with its programs in Montagu and elsewhere in the Breede River Winelands.
In a meeting that Dulcie and I held with Cape Winelands official Ewnis Delport, former assistant to executive Mayor Clarence Johnson of Cape Winelands District Municipality (Boland), we were told that in 2006 the BRWM had attempted to shut down our food security program, Huis Tuintjies. If anything clearly reveals the local municipality’s intent, and indifference to the poor, this pressure on the District to withdraw RWA’s successful food security funding certainly does. Additionally, in submitting the application to High Court, Manager Nel, with many years experience, contravened a direct responsibility and requirement stipulated in the Municipal Financial Management Act to consult with and receive Council approval before taking such action, something he obviously felt he wouldn’t get, in that the present council is ANC.
Our ECD Crèche Shack held an official opening on March 21st, Human Rights Day, 2007, but we decided the doors could not be opened to the children following a call from the municipality’s lawyer in Capetown that we were to do nothing further else we would be in contravention of a court order. Coming from a legal background, I’m not sure his advice was correct, rather meant to be intimidating. The court order was for RWA, Dulcie and myself to appear and answer to the charges, and was a preliminary application before the High Court, in other words, not a done deal. His firm also sent me a preliminary bill (which he has since asked I tear up as he doesn’t ‘want anyone but his client to see it’, something I won’t do) for R14, 000, for phone calls and advocate advice. We saw it immediately as intimidation and ignored it. All along Dulcie and I were confident we would win. I have sixty letters on my computer of correspondence showing a pattern of indifference from the municipality and even material that could be considered intentional obstruction or conspiracy. It is the obstruction which I’ve experienced in nearly seven years of contact with BRWM that I feel was their true intent. And it is too easy to say it was simply attempts on their part to limit interest, and thus votes in the ANC, although we believe this was a significant part of their seemingly deliberate inaction and interference over the years.
However, that week following Human Rights Day, and during school holidays, we had three daytime child rapes while the single parent was working, two girls age five and one aged six who is still in hospital, one from Mandela Square, the other two from Ashbury and Fresh Air/Sunnyside. As both Dulcie and I are parents of numerous loved children and do feel we have a responsibility to our communities, we were stunned and felt we had been wrong to hesitate opening, so the decision was made to open regardless of the court order. We are open to this day with about 25 children, now mostly young, toddlers and infants, as our six older children who had not previously been going to school before entering our ECD, were transferred to formal school last week.
RWA on a shoestring budget, and without any form of government funding at this time, hired a professional teacher, Jesica October and two Creche leaders, Tammy Swartbooi and Gloria Cayiya. In addition we feed the children a hot daily noon meal. Our hours, because of funds shortage are between 9 am and 1 pm. The Huis Tuintjie (House Garden) program has established two community gardens in the Mandela Square Settlement, from which daily vegetables will continue to be drawn to feed the children and staff.
I will digress if I may, to give you a little history of the struggle to address the needs of the disadvantaged citizens living in the three poverty communities of Montagu, especially since Dulcie’s founding of RWA in early 2004. Dulcie, as you know has always and proudly been an activist struggling to improve the lives of the poor. In the last local municipal administration (Breede River Winelands Municipality) Dulcie was not only ANC, but the first black woman elected to Council at a time in which Montagu was still operating as though 1994 had not happened. She is not well liked by the established order in our community and has been stymied at virtually every turn by those who don’t want change, who don’t accept that we have a New South Africa, and who privately state that services should not be given to certain people, otherwise it will encourage more of ‘them’ to come here.
I think you have a copy of Dulcie’s “Have Your Say”, however I am attaching a copy of it with this report for your records. It shows, I believe, why there has been a build up over the years of established hatreds for Dulcie and her stance on behalf of the poor. The local superintendent of SAPS, a friend, reported to me three years ago that he was concerned I was now working with Dulcie, that she was a ‘troublemaker’. Ironically, that intrigued me, rather than dissuading my participation.
Dulcie’s cry is however, “What About The Children”?
Because of the now historic split in the provincial ANC in January, 2006, where Premier Rasool was nearly defeated and the ‘South Africa for Africans’ contingent took control, (as compared to ‘South Africa for All’) Dulcie, who was at the time head of the ANC list for the Breede River Winelands and destined to be Exec Mayor, was effectively dumped from the ANC. She decided then she was finished with politics and that concentrating on improving the lives of the poor was her first priority anyway, something politicians largely seem incompetent about or indifferent to. During her Councillorship she had established Rural Women Association and requested my help. At the time I was chairperson of the Montagu Abused Women and Children’s Trust establishing and overseeing the Victim Support Room at the South Africa Police Service (SAPS) station at Montagu.
Since then Dulcie and her active board of directors have worked on over 26 programs and we are all proud that our Huis Tuintjies is now in McGregor, Saron, Paarl and Tousrivier, and our ‘litter clean’ feeding program is in Bonnievale.
As you know the case before High Court was withdrawn following considerable legal expense, on Friday, the 11th, prior to our scheduled appearance on Monday the 14th. We were definitely tempted to continue the fight, which effectively would have revolved around the BRWM’s failure to supply decent services to the poor, and possibly that there was a conspiracy amongst the established officials to purposefully stymie RWA’s attempts to improve life within the poor communities. I felt we had the evidence to show an ongoing pattern of indifference and obstruction. However, the monetary concern was greatest in our mind as R3 (approximately 25 cents US) feeds a child or adult a hot nutritious meal in our various feeding programs. We were looking at legal costs which would otherwise supply tens of thousands of meals.
Dulcie’s argument for supervising the building of the shack is simple. She said to me: “I must enforce both national and provincial policy in this matter since the BRWM isn’t capable.”
.
Of final note, it should be recognized that we received no support from our local ANC Council. They effectively left us with no choice but to go over their head. As a result, the Boland District or regional municipality, CWDM under Clarence Johnson, went to bat for us and the application was withdrawn on the last possible day prior to court, the day when final papers had to be filed.
What does the future present? We are not sure. The ‘clique’ in BRWM has lost its head, in that Nico Nel, the former Municipal Manager who lodged the application has now been replaced. We are however, concerned the remaining older officials will continue to stymie us where they can, that the local council will not support us as was evidenced in this dispute. We’ve written the Exec Mayor, John Ngonyama and the new Municipal Manager, who was himself willing to listen, and who signed the withdrawal papers, that we wish to meet and discuss the prospective programs I’ve referred to above. Our hope naturally is that the municipality will now cooperate and negotiate with RWA.
All along we’ve been saying to this municipality. Why not work with RWA? Our successes will be your successes.
Wish us luck, and keep us in your prayers.
Solinus Jolliffe, Treasurer, Project Manager
Rural Women Association, Montagu
“What About The Children”?
See Blog titled “A Squatter Camp History, South Africa” which is referred to above as “Have Your Say”.
posted by Legal Alien at 9:58 AM
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