SAB 'irony' strikes Zille
2010-08-27 22:38
Cape Town - Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille has been "struck by irony" after discovering the sponsor for a "War on Poverty" event in one of the poorest regions of the Western Cape was South African Breweries.
Zille, who had been visiting the Bitou region at the invitation of Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, was "amazed" to find that three out of the four families she had visited had extreme substance abuse problems, one of which was headed by a man who insisted on calling her "baby".
"In two of the houses, the adults were so drunk by mid-morning that they could not participate meaningfully in a conversation," she said.
"In the third house, the adults - including a pregnant woman - openly conceded that they were under the influence of marijuana.
"It was quite apparent, in all three homes, that no intervention would increase the capability of the families to move out of poverty until their addiction problems were addressed."
Chronic alcoholism
In another case she was encountered a "Mr Dlamini" - not his real name - who was so that drunk he could barely stand.
"Mr Dlamini was so drunk he could not stand on his feet and kept referring to me as 'baby'.
"The family's source of income is Mrs Dlamini’s 'disability grant'. It was clearly a context of chronic alcoholism."
Zille said she has consulted the family’s "profile" which had listed Dlamini’s skills as "brick-laying, painting, walls, welding, carpentry".
"This was followed by a list of state interventions required to support him moving out of poverty. It notes - 'needs assistance in fixing cracks in RDP house'.
"Here was a man with all the skills required to fix his wall. But the state was instructing a local government department to send someone else to do so, for the ostensible purpose of enabling the Dlamini family to escape poverty.
"To be sure, he needed the assistance, not because he lacked the skills, but because he could not stand up."
Final irony
Zille was confronted in the street by a woman "in a state of extreme intoxication" who demanded to know how she was expected her to raise her child on a grant of R250.
"When I asked her where the child’s father was, she dismissed my question as entirely irrelevant and told me she intended to have another child to receive an additional grant.
"There was no point trying to reason with her."
After the door-to-door visits Motlanthe led the delegation in addressing a large rally of about 3 000 people in "a huge marquee".
Zille used the opportunity to talk "bluntly" about some of the "unmentionable" causes of poverty, including teenage pregnancy, substance abuse, the spread of HIV through unprotected sex, the failure of many fathers to take responsibility for their children.
"When the master of ceremonies moved the vote of thanks for the day's proceedings, I was struck by a final irony.
"The major corporate sponsor of the event was none other than South African Breweries. Go figure."
- SAPA