WeeklySA_AdminToilets: No toilets on the farms and women relieve themselves in the open
By Monk Nkomo
The spraying and inhalation of hazardous pesticides on wine farms in the Western Cape has left a trail of death, torture and misery to former and current farm workers who endured painful experiences including conditions where women exposed their bodies to relieve themselves in the open because there was no water and toilet facilities.
One of the women told how she had to use her dress – soaked in pesticides that had been sprayed on the farm – to clean herself because they were not even offered toilet papers by their employer.
These are some of the chilling stories that prompted The People’s Tribunal on Agritoxins (SAPTOA), to initiate the trial of the government in the court of opinion which was held at a hotel in Stellenbosch last weekend. SAPTOA is a coalition of affected communities , civil society groups, trade unions and academics dedicated to exposing the dangers of pesticides in South Africa and supporting those impacted by agricultural toxins.
SAPTOA believes that the government had, for decades, abdicated its responsibility to protect farm workers, some of whom had died and others left seriously ill, after being exposed to the deadly pesticides that were being sprayed on the farms. They are also calling on the government to ban these hazardous pesticides.
Several retired farm workers gave details of their harrowing experiences of working on wine farms in the Western Cape where farmers subjected them to inhumane conditions and violated their human rights. A retired female farm worker told a harrowing story of having lost sight of one eye, suffered from chest pains and ended up suffering from asthma and diabetes because of long years of inhaling pesticide that was being sprayed around the farm.
Her house, which was situated around the farm, was burnt down under mysterious circumstances apparently after she had complained about the working conditions and had also joined a trade union. She had also questioned the threat by her employer who eventually evicted her from the farm.
The Women on Farms Project, a member of SAPTOA, also presented testimonies from other victims who gave distressing accounts of their experiences.
‘’ It was a difficult time. There were no toilets. If you had an emergency, you had to relieve yourself just there. Women had to expose themselves. There was no toilet paper to clean yourself. There was no water to wash our hands.
I used the seam of my dress, which was soaked in pesticide that was being sprayed around, to clean myself. I think this was when I started suffering from the pesticide that was being sprayed on the farm,’’ said the woman who only identified herself as Ms. Adams. The only time there were mobile toilets, she added, was when the farmers had been notified that inspectors were coming to visit the farm. These toilets would be removed as soon as the inspectors had left.
She worked on the farm from 1982 where they were not provided with gloves or protective clothing. In 2012 she became ill and felt ‘’something hanging out of me.’’ She went to the clinic where she was informed that she had cancer of the womb. She was advised to undergo an operation to remove the womb failing which she would not live long.
‘’I had to remove the womb. It was painful. I felt bitter and sad’’. Maggie Piet said her husband, Solly Piet, worked on a wine farm where he sprayed pesticide for eight years. He then fell ill. She took him to the hospital in Worcester when he started vomiting what looked like foam. Doctors found that he suffered from cancer.
‘’His stomach layer was golden yellow in colour. He was very weak. The doctor told me thre was nothing they could do to help him. He asked what kind of work he was doing. After telling him, the doctor told me it (cancer) was caused by pesticide inhalation. My husband later died. These pesticides are aggressive. The farmers just don’t care about their employees.’’
Another retired farm worker said she was employed on a farm in De Doorns where helicopters were used to spray pesticide on the grape farms. ‘’ We would be soaked in this pesticide thinking it is just water. Later you would sweat and your mouth became dry. This pesticide is very dangerous. You feel tired and sometimes think you are dying. After 21 years working there, I retired because I was now suffering from asthma.’’
All the witnesses stressed the need for justice for farm workers and for the government to promulgate laws that would guarantee their safety, fair and decent wages . ‘’ Farm workers are human beings who also demand dignity. Stop poisoning us.’’
The testimonies of the retired farm workers followed a decision by SAPTOA to put the government on trial in the court of opinion adjudicated by a panel of three highly influential women who included Judge Navi Pillay, Dr. Sophie Kisping-Cairncross and Human Rights Commissioner, Philile Ntuli.
Supported by the Women on Farms Project, South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), trade unions and academics, SAPTOA put the government on trial for its alleged failure to uphold constitutional duties , particularly the right to life.
In her opening statement at the tribunal at the weekend, Mariam Mayet, executive director of African Centre for Biodiversity , said the government had failed the people by neglecting heath risks and agricultural areas such as being exposed to pesticides. ‘’
The government has not only been negligent but has deliberately poisoned people by, firstly, deliberately disregarding the law. This has been going on despite the government being aware for a number of decades that there is a direct relationship between pesticide exposure and cancer.’’
SAPTOA has called on the government to put in place a plan to phase out toxic pesticides and move towards agricultural practices that were more harmonious with nature . According to SAPTOA, South Africa was the largest consumer in the continent of toxic chemical compounds registered for use in industrial farming. They have also called on the government to ban 67 highly dangerous pesticides.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on toxins and human rights, Dr. A. Marcos Orellana, has noted that the crude legacy of pre-1994 environmental racism still persisted and was exacerbated by outdated laws and inadequate enforcement.
He highlighted the advanced stance of the South African Constitution on human rights including its recognition of the right to a healthy environment 25 years before the UN General Assembly recognized that right in 2022.
The SAHRC has also called on the government to ban highly toxic pesticides which had killed many children in the country. Most, if not all the children who died, had bought snacks from their local spaza shops in the townships – a tragedy that prompted the government to immediately order the registration of spaza shops in South Africa.
After the chilling weekend testimonies of the retired farm workers, the panel which presided at the Tribunal are expected to deliver their findings and possibly, recommendations , at a date still to be determined.
Mirror Briefs
SA TO RESET USA TALKS
South Africa was working to reset US relations that have been under assault by Donald Trump since his return to the White House.
Pretoria was preparing a bilateral trade agreement as a backstop in case it loses access to a preferential accord, according to the deputy trade minister. And it is shoring up its diplomatic presence in Washington following the expulsion of the country’s ambassador this month.
As part of the multi-pronged strategy, a South African business delegation also visited New York last week for talks with some of the 600 US companies who operate in Africa’s most-industrialised economy on how to prepare for the potential loss of duty-free access.
Ties between the two nations have been battered by a cascade of actions by the US president. Trump’s objections include South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice and claims of land seizure at the expense of White farmers. South Africa has not confiscated any land since the end of apartheid in 1994.
The US investors play an important role in funding South Africa’s current account deficit and any US investment restrictions, should relations deteriorate further, would trigger a major financial shock, Deutsche Bank said in a note last month. – Fullview
REPRIEVE FOR THE AGED
The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has welcomed the South African Reserve Bank decision to allow for the continued use of the SASSA gold card until all the cards have been successfully replaced.
The decision by SARB comes after several engagements between SASSA and Postbank on several issues, including alternative payment methods for beneficiaries who have not migrated to the Postbank black card.
SASSA Acting Chief Executive Officer, Themba Matlou, said the decision had been made in the best interest of all the beneficiaries to safeguard their dignity, lessen panic, while ensuring their safety and easy access to their grants.
Matlou said he respected and abided by the decisions taken by the relevant banking authorities, including SARB. He also appealed to all gold card holders to still go out to change their cards to Postbank black card sooner rather than later.
Briefing the media following Cabinet’s meeting, Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, said the deadline for SASSA grant beneficiaries to swop their SASSA gold cards for the new Postbank cards had been extended to 30 April 2025. – SAnews.
CURE TO CERVICAL CANCER
The international community has been called upon to scale up cervical cancer interventions and progress against the only noncommunicable disease that can be eliminated. This call was made by the Government of South Africa, Unitaid and the World Health Organization (WHO) at the Group of Twenty (G20) Health Working Group meeting, which took place in Zimbali, outside Durban.
According to the Department of Health, cervical cancer was preventable and potentially curable, as long as it was detected early and managed effectively. It is the second most common form of cancer among women in South Africa.
Statistics by the WHO showed that the disease claimed the lives of almost 350 000 women globally in 2022.
“New vaccines, tests, and treatment technologies have transformed cervical cancer prevention in recent years, yet the disease continues to disproportionately impact women mostly in low- and middle-income countries where access to primary health care and preventive services are limited. Cervical cancer elimination would address a major gap in Women’s health,” the department said.
Speaking on the sidelines of the G20 health meeting, Unitaid’s Deputy Executive Director, Tenu Avafia, said Unitaid had invested 81 million US dollars ( R1.4 billion) to bring down prices, increase volumes and address operational questions involved in cervical cancer screening and treatment to enable countries to scale up proven interventions with minimal risk. – SAnews
FORMER SPEAKER IN COURT
The corruption case involving former National Assembly Speaker, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, has been postponed to April 4.
She faces 12 counts of corruption and one count of money laundering. The charges stem from allegations that she received millions of rands in cash bribes from a contractor linked to the South African National Defence Force. The case was postponed in January after the accused filed an application requesting disclosures of Section B and Section C of the docket. Section B and C deal with the correspondence and investigation diary.
Mapisa-Nqakula’s defence believes that the disclosure of the two Sections contained information that would vindicate her. During the proceedings, the defence lawyer, Reg Willis, submitted that the State had not fully kept up its end of the deal. The State had not disclosed Section C of the police docket which was the correspondence between the investigating officer and prosecution team. State prosecutor, Paul Louw, argued that the information contained in section C was privileged and all relevant evidence had been disclosed. “There is enough evidence, information and there are certainly public interest exceptions that need to be protected in that situation.”
The matter has been postponed to April 4 for a decision on the disclosure of further documents. – Lehlohonolo Lehana
