WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2008-11-11 Time: 11:00:11 Posted By: Jan
By Barry Bateman and Kim Chikane
Armed with a loaf of bread for herself and a lunch-box of porridge for her three-month-old baby girl Letwin, Alice Makone stands at the corner of Botha and Nuwe avenues in Centurion from morning until mid-afternoon, huddled under an umbrella, their only shelter from the scorching sun. She is begging.
At around 3pm when the sprinklers come on, she knows it’s time to start heading home.
Makone travels every day from Johannesburg to Centurion by train, she said she makes a lot more money from standing at this corner than she would make in Johannesburg where she resides. She claims she can make up to R60 a day.
After the death of Letwin’s father, Makone was left with little to maintain herself and her baby, and this forced her to move from Zimbabwe to South Africa, six weeks ago. She now lives in one room in a flat in Johannesburg. She shares the room with six other people to be able to afford the rent.
Sometimes she manages to get domestic work at surrounding homes, but mostly she is forced to beg on the busy streets to feed her daughter and herself, and pay the rent.
Makone is strongly considering returning to Zimbabwe to rebuild her life, and is hopeful that back home she might even be able to enrol her daughter in a school should the political situation change.
Tshwane Metro Police spokesperson, Senior Superintendent Alta Fourie, said no one was allowed to stand at an intersection.
“Beggars can be fined for endangering their own and the lives of motorists and obstructing traffic.
“They also endanger the lives of their children,” she said.
Fourie said the problem was a difficult one for police because the beggars often do not carry identification or have a fixed address, which means issuing a fine is futile.
From a social policing perspective, she said, teaching the beggars that they were a risk to themselves and motorists did not help much either. “We have started dealing with beggars in the same way we deal with hawkers.
“They are detained and taken to the local police station where all their particulars are taken down and stored in a file. If they are detained in future we can refer to the file and take the necessary steps,” she said.
Child Welfare Tshwane spokesperson, Marinda Gerber, said they were aware of the problem and investigating various solutions with different role players in the city.
“We have joined hands with the metro police to investigate possible solutions to this problem.
“Mothers begging at traffic lights with little ones on their backs are a big concern to Child Welfare Tshwane, as our vision is to provide a safe home environment for every child in Tshwane,” she said.
Gerber said members of the community regularly contact their office to report such cases.
“Often these mothers need help to obtain identity documents and birth certificates in order to qualify for child support grants.
“The new Children’s Act brings hope as well because provision is made for partial care, to provide the mother with an opportunity to work for an income while the child is being cared for,” she said.
Members of the public who would like to help or report a matter to Child Welfare can call 012 460 9236.