RBPlat caught with their tongues out- By Joseph Magobe

                                                                                          

Two years after shooting to fame, an association of blind people in Chaneng village remains hopeless amidst millions of rand donations from the Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) and a North West provincial government department.

‘We started on 08^th June 2005. Every member was contributing R30-00 per month towards the development of the project including buying seedlings’, explained Tadidi Letupu; a blind granny seated at the corner of their full office.

Production charts, trophies, certificates of achievements and attendance of workshops and trainings attract you to enter an office with cupboards and a shelf-less display stands. Around a flowery table cloth is four whitish cane chairs, ledger books and files of the daily and weekly sales of the tried and tested Chaneng Association for the Blind.

In 2011, the RBPlat approached the Association for the Blind to upgrade their gardening project.

The RBPlat’s 2002 Integrated Annual Report (IAR) highlights that, “The Chaneng garden was already in existence, when it was adopted by BRPM. We began upgrading it in September 2011 assisted by our consultants- Umtali. We equipped the garden with pumps and water tanks, shade netting structures, an irrigation, a storeroom, wash bays and an ablution block.” The report says: ‘the garden produces seasonal produce, which it sells to Sun City, Fruit and Veg in Rustenburg, the Rasimone Primary School and the Johannesburg Market. Once their second tunnel is complete they will add peppers and chillies to their range of produce.”

In Chaneng, the association has a different story to tell.

Mr. Shimane Sedikwe differed heatedly that ‘they [RBPlat] didn’t  finish building the entire hectare as they promised. If the RBPlat’s intervention would have helped, we would be having cars coming in and out like in Brits [farms].’

Mr Sedikwe started a bee hive project in 2002. In 2007 the Thabo Mbeki Foundation built the office for his project, which later became part of Association for the Blind garden project. The Mbeki Foundation stopped supporting the bee hive project after realising that they were not only doing bee hive, but had included vegetable gardening.

‘RBPlat promised to develop one hectare, part of the piece of land the association own, to make it a big vegetable garden. There after they [RBPlat] introduced us to a company called Umtali.

‘Then things started go be messed up when the RBPlat brought seven additional staff members. These guys were hired to build the [garden] project extension’, says Ntebo Sedikwe, in a soft voice full of nervous energy.

Ntebo Sedikwe is part of the remaining nine founding members of Chaneng Association for the Blind, after five of them passed on.

‘The association members faced problems when the  Umtali project forced us to register as a cooperative, even when we already registered with the Department of Social Development. (DSD) asa non-profit making organisation (NPO), we succumbed to convincing thoughts of RBPlat and Umtali [consultants]’, says Ntebo.

‘One day an Umtali female employee, part of the four male Umtali full-time workers, was smoking in the garden near three of us who are asthmatic. So I asked her why she did that. Then she replied, “I will fire you”.

‘I was shocked. I asked her what she was saying again. She then repeated; “I will fire you”. I then went in the office and phoned her boss to report the incident. That was the last day I saw the lady at [garden] project. And as days went by not seeing her at work, I was informed she was fired’.

I and Mr. Montsho, as project representatives, we didn’t have a choice and agreed to what was happening. Were thinking that we were on the right track and it was for the benefit of all, especially for the founding members.’

Ntebo recalls that ‘In 2012 the association was officially name changed and registered as Chaneng Agric Co-op. In 2013 we were approached by an official from the North West Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD ) saying we were part of a farmers’ competition and I said “let’s wait until we understand how a cooperative works, but we were convinced that this was a good initiative”.

‘The next thing is, I won R125 000 as Female Farmer of the Year in the North West Province. And our gardening project was announced as an overall competition winner of R1 million. The one million rand dummy cheque was never produced at the awards ceremony unlike the R125 000 cheque I held with the MEC [of DARD]. Now community members think that we have misused or spend the money’, laments Ntebo.

The Department officials told them the one million rand was in the pool. This is something the renamed association still doesn’t understand.

 ‘When we asked about the R1million, we were told it’s in the pool. When Mr. Ntsimane and Mr. Shabangu from the department visited us in 2015, they told us the amount remaining in the pool was R450 000. They will see if they can deposit the amount to our account. What is amazing is that initially they refused to deposit the money into our account... Now the officials are not coming to us anymore. I’m tired. Our spirits are low’. Ntebo says.

Shimane Sedikwe disagrees: No! We must push! We need to get two or three people who can assist us in producing more vegetables”. 

‘When they began the extension project in 2011 they promised to stay for 5 years. They had said they will develop one hectare of the project but only half of the piece of land was developed. Even the irrigation system was installed half way through. In 2014 Umtali stopped coming and the seven staff members they brought with them also stopped coming. When I made follow-ups with Umtali to check what was the problem they said they are busy.

‘When I follow-up with Mr. Modibedi, an RBPlat employee, he once said to me “can’t you understand when we say we are busy?” For six months of follow-up they kept saying they are out of Rustenburg and in 2016 I stopped contacting them. On the other hand we are not invited to the farmers’ competitions anymore’.

The following claims by the RBPlat 2012 IAR, leaves much to be desired: ‘The garden has been so successful; it is already purchasing its own seedlings. We expect that it will become completely self-sustaining in the near future.’

The RBPlat has not disclosed the value of the gardening project development to the Association’s founding members or project representatives. Though their IAR states: ‘Association of the Blind’s Chaneng Garden Costs: R2 708 167’. 

Choppies Supermarkets wants a quantity of five hundred bundles of spinach per week. But we don’t have a tax clearance certificate to do business as a registered co-operative, we don’t have receipts or invoices required for accounting and auditing. Since 2012 the tax clearance hasn’t been renewed.

The Chaneng Agric Co-op is non compliant and owing SARS taxes and probably penalties. ‘Now we have to pay over R100 000 to SARS to be tax compliant.

With their name changed, Chaneng Agric Co-op’s realisation of success is yet to be seen.