A bizarre problem on one of my projects.
I have one project that has an interesting problem, namely the public in the area. It is supposed to be a straight forward project due to the scope of works, they are doing routine road maintenance on various roads around the Western Cape. Look at the photograph below for a bit of insight into the problem
The photo was taken from a distance away so sorry for the poor quality, as you can see the flagman is standing on duty with a machete. The machete is not used for work, it is purely for protection. Last week while moving into the area about 20+ residents stormed at them with machetes and stick shouting angrily. They chased the employees away from the area and demanded work. They were chasing employees away that were employed to better their area, part of the road maintenance include grass cutting, litter picking and repairing broken fences.
Below is a group of litter pickers. While checking their kit (overalls, safety shoes and reflective vests) I saw that there was a security vehicle hanging close by the team. as you can see they are working quite close to the houses and are at risk of being attacked.
Usually on a project like this they would be required to deploy traffic management signage, but due to the theft of signs they were given permission to work without it. Thieves would run from the nearby houses, grab one of the signs and disappear back into the labyrinth of shacks (informal houses).
When I stopped to take the pictures their supervisor stopped by me to warn me that it is quite a dangerous area. The fact that he looked and sounded quite anxious told me that he was telling the truth. He told me to be careful and not stay to long.
It is sad that in this day and age one should be afraid of doing your job, especially if you have worked hard at it and you have someone to support.
Wow I've always seen the people working along the roads but I had no idea that it could be so dangerous for them. It's sad to think that this is in fact a reality.
It is a pain, especially if they just want to do their job and get on with their life, they are not looking for any trouble.
It really is disgusting that some people have to work under such conditions.
True, that someone would do something like that to a fellow human being..
That is so sad ,i also stay in the Western Cape and know exactly what you are talking about . But as long as people are hungry and unemployed this will never stop I recon this will even get worse as time goes by.
Yes, we can only hope that things will improve someday, but it will take a lot of time.
It really is a sad day when you cant even stand on the side of the road and not worry for your safety. It's become a worry for me as a father that should my wife or kids break down on a road somewhere, that there are so many chancers milling around, that they are under real threat to being harmed and robbed.
And there is so much to change before this gets better. Its not just poverty that is the issue. We have a police workforce that is not working as it should, leaders that set the wrong example to public servants and public at large, teh success of crime, courts that dont hold people accountable for the crimes they do commit, prisons that cultivate a criminal connection rather than stave it off.....its all out of control.
My heart goes out to those poor people having to work in that environment
It is sad to witness people earning a minimum wage are treated so unfairly be the local residents, alas for a few that make life even more difficult for the majority who live in constant fear.
Gangs form and believe they are entitled to these positions of employment, hurting their own people in doing these deeds.
This post has received gratitude of 1.90 % from @appreciator thanks to: @chr7is.
Unfortunately in a country without rule of law human nature takes over. It starts from to top to be an example to the rest to behave civilized. Good post.
it's absolutely terrible that they have to work under these conditions. In this country it's usually a matter of "no good deed goes unpunished"..