WeeklySA_AdminTHE TRAGEDY OF THE POOR AND EXPLOITED
The tragic deaths of at least thirty-three people after a multi-storey building collapsed in George in the Western Cape was a stark reminder of the evils of poverty after it was established that most of the victims were foreigners who were allegedly exploited for their cheap labour.
Many of those injured, some seriously, are still being treated in various hospitals. Rescuers, after initially believing that there were still many of the workers trapped in the cement rubble, declared on Friday that no bodies were still there. There are unconfirmed reports that some of these victims who are from Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique, did not have valid documents to be in the country.
National and provincial government officials as well as the police and rescue teams should be commended for working tirelessly in the past two weeks to rescue the workers who were trapped under heavy concrete slabs.
Mystery however, surrounded the whereabouts of the person at the centre of the tragedy – the owner of the building – who was missing in action. His cold reaction to what has been described as a catastrophic incident revealed that he cared more about profits than the people who were working so hard to rake in the money.
The families of the victims converged on the scene shortly after being informed about the terrible incident. They consoled each other in prayers, waiting in agony for the owner of the building to brief them about what could have been the cause of the tragedy that cost so many lives. But, alas, the boss was not forthcoming.
President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the site of the tragedy this week and offered South Africa’s condolences to the many families who had been waiting from a nearby hall since the collapse of the building with the hope that their loved ones would be found alive. The President promised the families that the national and Western Cape governments would launch an intensive probe into the matter and those responsible would face the consequences. Although the investigation would take some time, compensation would be paid to all those affected . The government and several funeral undertakers have pledged to help repatriate the bodies of all the victims.
The ministry of Employment and Labour has already stated that legal action would be taken against the owner of the building who also allegedly ignored a subpoena to report at the site after the incident. It is unfortunate that the tragedy happened amid warnings to employers by the government not to employ undocumented foreigners after it came to light that they were offering them jobs for their cheap labour. Employers were accused of exploiting and paying them meagre salaries while denying local people employment opportunities.
What happened in George should not be allowed to recur anywhere else in this country. Employers should learn to value the lives of their workers. Life is a gift from The Almighty. People, irrespective of their origin, should be treated with respect and dignity. They should not be abused.
