The closure of the Clover SA cheese factory in North West due to the dysfunctional Ditsobotla local municipality has had a devastating impact on jobless former employees.
Tebogo Mosete, 41, would use his meagre R5,800 monthly salary to take care of his wife, children and parents. But with the closure of the factory in Lichtenburg a few months ago, he hasn’t been able put bread on the table, leading to hard times for his family. He lives with his wife and two children aged 10 and seven in a shack in Boikhutso extension 3.
He is among over 200 Clover workers who lost their jobs after the company announced in June last year that it was closing its dairy firm and moving it to KwaZulu-Natal due to poor service delivery by the Ditsobotla local municipality. The company blamed constant power cuts for the move.
Mosete, whose last shift was in April, said he could not afford to relocate with his employer. He received a R31,000 voluntary severance package (VSP) in January.
He said the past three months without a salary have been difficult.
“The VSP I got ran out in February. I had a clothing accounts with a debt of R15,000. I used most of it to pay my debts. I still have debts. I used the other portion of the money to buy building material to extend my parents’ RDP house,” said Mosete.
“I can no longer afford to buy lots of meat as I used to. I now buy chicken feet with the little money I still have left from the packages we received. Sometimes my parents lend me money from their social grant to buy a small packet of maize meal and chicken feet,” said Mosete.
“I was the breadwinner at home. I was making a difference. I feel like I am going back to my old life of unemployment where I was looking for a job. I have been applying for several jobs but I have not found anything,” he said.
Stephen Moaludi, 32, worked at Clover as a general worker from 2016 until his last shift in November. He also used his R35,000 package to pay off debt.
“Going for four months without a salary is painful. I could not pay for my child’s transport. I had to take him to school with my own car. I could not even pay school fees and it resulted in the school not giving me my child’s report card for March,” he said.
“That money ran out. I had to pay for my car and also settle my debt with loan sharks,” said Moaludi.
Another former employee, Olebogeng Moaludi, 27, said going to KwaZulu-Natal would be too costly. “I would have to look for a place to stay and pay rent. Here in Lichtenburg I was not paying any rent,” said Olebogeng.
When Sowetan visited the factory last week, no employees could be seen inside besides five security guards manning the entrance. A sign on the gate said the building would be auctioned next month.
The plant is located in an industrial area where other businesses such as car repair workshops, chicken supply companies and maize plants continue to operate.
The road leading to the cheese factory is in such a bad state that trucks and bakkies struggle to navigate it.
Food and Allied Workers Union spokesperson Dominique Martin said about 30 workers relocated with the company.
“Most workers took the retrenchment packages. Life is pretty despondent for these workers as Clover is one of the few companies that employed labour. The communities are devastated and people are trying to make ends meet, but it is very difficult,’’ said Martin.
kokam@sowetan.co.za
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