Cape Town – Next year, the country will be heading to the polls for the local government elections.
Politicians will be visiting ordinary citizens and making all sorts of promises, most of them will probably never be fulfilled after the elections and those who sat in our coaches, telling us lies, will be nowhere to be found.
This reminds me of how I came across Mirtle Virrooi. She is blind and uses a wheelchair. She used to stay in a one-room shack with no water, electricity and toilet in her informal settlement near Happy Valley in Blue Downs.
The former farmworker shared her leaking shack with her abusive younger boyfriend, David “Klonkie” Koopman. It’s hard to imagine how they lived under these horrible conditions for so many years.
IFP member Narend Singh was campaigning in the area in 2016, and had invited the media to see the “appalling” conditions under which some people were living, even under the democratic government.
This was not something new to me as it normally happens during elections, where politicians visit families in order to get votes.
In my mind I had a question I could not answer after hearing Virrooi’s story. As much as I’d gone there for an assignment, I had to tell the story of this woman in a different way.
I had to tell her story in a way that could hold those in power accountable and get them to actually deliver on their promises. I knew this kind of story needed time and that I had to come back and do a proper job.
Her shack is at the back of this congested community and far from the road. To get to her, you have to walk a narrow path between shacks.
There is also a possibility that you might get robbed, as crime is rife in the area.
Inside, you would find her sleeping on her single bed. Next to her would be a black crate with a square of wood, used as a table. An ice cream bucket is used as a dish container. There is only a 20l bucket for water.
As a blind person, Virrooi gets worried if you are there, for good reason.
This is because some people have allegedly stolen her belongings.
When you greet her, she greets you back with a soft voice and answers what you asked her.
I went to visit her again, as I tried to get more of her story. The situation had not changed. I took pictures of her and the area. This time, Koopman was home.
As Virrooi told her story, she would shout at him, blaming him for her losing her sight and being in a wheelchair. Nothing happened after publishing their story.
I had to contact the office of the then MEC for Human Settlement in the Western Cape, Bonginkosi Madikizela. The first response from the office was that Virrooi had never been registered for any housing subsidy. They had to start from there and she would be placed on a waiting list.
The waiting took about a year, and I visited again in 2018, but there was no change.
I wrote another letter directly to the MEC, hoping I would get an immediate response - but nothing.
Months later, I was informed by Virrooi’s neighbours that people had visited and wanted to know more.
My last visit was last year, where I found the couple at home, relaxing with neighbours who kept checking on how the pair were doing.
Later in the year, they were finally given an RDP house in Highbury near Kuils River, which they could call home. The house has water, electricity and a toilet in an area that has less crime.
Virrooi’s world is dark as she cannot see, but it didn’t have to be in a dark place because of her condition.
The situation of our most vulnerable and poor residents should be a priority, not only when those in power need our votes - like next year.