Franschhoek CBD
As I’m writing this it is All-Pay day here in the village. Mark Street is surely by now abuzz with people and vendors. There are quite a few people that are dependant on these grants – especially our senior citizens. Some have to budget wisely just to make it through the month, while others can’t wait to spend their social grant. Last month I was going down to the shop and for a while I was just observing the passers-by. I focused on a group sitting on the grass and I noticed that they seem to be social grant beneficiaries. I also noticed that they were abusing alcohol, an older lady was already taking a siesta from having too much to drink and with her being in slumber land her fellow drinking buddies seized the opportunity to search her pockets for money, which they found and kept for themselves. Today I witnessed something else, which made me more upset, another group was sitting in the same park, and they were enjoying a few beers, some were already intoxicated. I knew the lady as being a loan shark and while she and her cronies were drinking away they spotted another woman coming from the shop. The loan shark ordered one of her cronies to fetch the woman but the woman continued walking from the shop. Soon the loan shark ordered two more henchmen to drag the woman over to her and after a fierce verbal confrontation which ended in tears for the seized woman, she was let go but half of her shopping was kept by the loan shark.
Alcohol addicts sometimes go to loan sharks to borrow money to buy this cheap wine called a “boksie”. Soon their tab amounts to a considerable amount so when All-Pay day arrives the loan sharks cash in. If you do not pay up you get manhandled like the aforementioned woman and any money found, or in this case groceries, get confiscated by the loan shark. I wish this type of exploitation could be stopped but I fear as long as people live in poverty someone will always take advantage of them. There are several loan sharks preying on the disadvantaged in our town and they do not only wait until it is All-Pay, some have weekly raids as well.
I would also like to see that the park get efficient lighting installed. At night this park is very dark and it is a safety risk for people crossing it.
Another thing that is upsetting and frustrating me is the ongoing push to keep Franschhoek’s golden mile for whites only. Yes, I have written about it before and my claims do not go down well with many white residents but I think that most white residents are too blind to see or fail to see what is going on. In the end they are benefiting from the CBD cleansing. But do me a favour and enquire from any coloured person living in this valley for all their life and you will come to understand the true frustration and feelings of the people living along the Stiebeuel. They say money cannot buy happiness but it sure can buy you some key role-players who can push your agenda forward.
You must have heard about Pokemon, the anime cartoon, well Pokemon is an abbreviation for Pocket Monsters. It seems that some rich residents in town might just have Pokecon or Pocket Councillors. I am saying “might” because with money on your side, everything is possible. Remember the quick demolishing of some key buildings in Franschhoek, I still wonder how this bypassed municipal regulations so easily? Now my real query, why would such a small town like ours have the need for two PicknPays? The one will not be as big as the other but the smaller one according to me only came into existence so that white residents can have the luxury not to bump into a coloured person. Things were already not lekker while PicknPay was in the old Koöperasie building. All I can say to my fellow coloured brothers is when the new PicknPay opens please make sure to support them.
Usually this time of year we think of where the year has raced off to. For some this year has been good and for others it did not deliver on hopes or resolutions made as the year started. But now is the time to be merry and to share a bit of generosity amongst each other. If you can share a bit of love with a needy family, please do, especially if there are children. Go out and buy a gift for them, wrap it in nice paper and when Christmas day comes give it to that child. You will feel a great joy when that child’s face lights up and a smile comes through as he opens up a gift. Please do spread the festive cheer and have yourself a merry little Christmas.
The Groendaller