Cape Town is white

Life in  Cape Town is like Johannesburg on weed. Everybody walks slower, thinks slower and just generally enjoys life. It is like the whole of Jo'burg just got stoned.

I do not believe our bodies were designed for the rat race. I wonder how many more heart attacks and diseases per capita exist in Johannesburg. There is certainly more tension on the roads. There is more tension in a normal interaction at the supermarket. Shop Assistants aren't as friendly in Johannesburg.

 In Cape Town people do not sit on your tail, they are patient on the road and shop assistants are friendly.

In Johannesburg racial tension is rife.I think that explains a lot about why shop assistants are less friendly and why everyday living is harder.

Cape Coloureds and Whites get on a whole lot better here.The anger and hatred so palpable in Jo'burg is not evident here. I guess its below the surface. As suburbs are still white, coloured or black people are still separated. So the physical distance between people means there is a lot of distance and the racial tension is separated.

The Shopping Centres are fulled with predominantly white customers and black people stick out uncomfortably. It does feel like a white colony here. Cape Town is not as integrated. I wonder how  the black shoppers feel. Cavendish yesterday did have that "black people are here as cleaners and shop assistants" feel.

Yet black shoppers are plentiful in the shops opposite and next to Cavendish. It is just that they don't go inside. I wonder why...

The final countdown

I am too much of a last minute person for my own good or my own health.

I spent so much time doing research on The Jukskei project that I didn't leave enough time for production. I get so carried away with finding out info because I love research, that I don't always leave adequate time for the crafting of my work. I almost feel I did too much work and spoke to too many people.

Although my Bruma Lake story is almost done! Yaaaaaay!

 But I am still anxious because Monday 9 am is the final deadline. How do I always finish everything at the last minute? I don't start it at the last minute but I always get it all finished 5 seconds before deadline. My poor nerves and heart and housemates who who have to live with this wide-eyed panicked looking girl.


This is how my next four days will go: I am editing a sound clip on Bruma today and finishing my written piece. Then after work tomorrow, I edit my video with Alistair because we didn't finish it on Tuesday and then on Sunday I finish editing my sound for my audio slide-show about the graslands near the Jukskei. I have so much audio and I have no idea how I am going to fit 40 minutes of speaking into one 3 minute piece.

It is probably easier to edit work if one does less. I am somewhat overwhelmed by all my material. I have too much of it!

But this project has been fun and I know I made the right choice to study Journalism and it makes moving my life to Jo'burg worth it even though I miss home and my old salary terribly.

Communicating with the government

If you want a reply from government have a friend who works there, otherwise expect your email to be ignored. If you want a reply that shows intelligence and an attempt to answer your questions, then don't email the government.

So 2 weeks ago I emailed government employee, Jane Eagle, who has been managing the sewerage and litter problem at Bruma Lake for more than ten years. Jane works for Jo'burg's Environmental Management Department. Jane promised an email reply by Thursday, a week and a half ago. I have given up waiting.

So today I emailed Eagle's boss, Flora. Flora is the head of the Environmental Management Department which is the Dept that has some responsibilty towards Bruma Lake. In other words the EM Dept needs to deal with the terrible smell and all the sewerage in the lake.

Anyway, Flora did not reply to the direct email I sent to her. But a friend of mine in the City Council forwarded her the email. She replied to him and he forwarded her answer to me.  I guess I need more friends in the Joburg council.

Not that Flora's reply was helpful.

I titled the message: "Bruma Lake media query"

She wrote: Is this a media query or a query to help you with your studies.



I wrote: My name is Katharine Child. I am writing a story for a Wits website on Bruma Lake. I have some questions about the lake. As I will be writing about what people say about Joburg water and the Environmental Management department, I need to give you a right to reply

She wrote: We report on Bruma on a quarterly basis where you can get more information from Council reports. It is difficult for us to manage such queries as and when they come and we rather refer questions to be based on our own reports


She can only answer questions from her reports. Wow!

I wrote: My research shows that various attempts to clean the lake have failed over the last few years. First there were litter nets used to catch litter but these were often full and broken, according to people involved with keeping the lake clean in 2002 and 2003. The litter nets were not well maintained and did not work. Then the litter trap was built but now the gate is not kept down properly, due to the sewerage, so litter gets into Bruma lake anyway under the gate that was open.


She wrote: It would appear you got briefing from someone else that you are not disclosing and now want us to respond on a matter we have no context about.


She has no context about what her department is in charge of ?
I asked her about what she said and what was discussed at a meeting, she attended a week ago. The questions came from the minutes of the meeting and she was there. Has she forgotton?


She wrote: Please clarify your context before we provide you with info

I feel I am getting nowhere with them.

Friday - Sunday

Friday was hilarious. Alistair and I filmed a guy called Andrew, drinking out of the Jukskei river with a water purifier called Life straw. Andrew is working with an NGO called Vertical life. Vertical life wants to take this water purifer through Africa because it is easy to use, small and has no working parts. But it only lasts a year and is very expensive. It is a temporary solution to bad water and the problem with handouts is that they create a beggar mentality. However Vertical life wants to teach people about digging wells and accessing clean water, as a more long term solution. They are doing anything for publicity to raise money for their projects, even drinking out of the Jukskei wth their product. I don't want to do PR for the company, Vertical Life, but I do want a short video of Andrew drinking from the river for the website. It will be something light hearted.

To get to the river Andrew followed my car and I was so self consicous about being followed, I managed to drive in the wrong lane and hit the curb when trying to park. It was all very embarrassing, but I laughed all the way home. Before going home Andrew got pulled over by the cops for having no licence plates- his  licence plate fell off on the way to the river. The other one was already missing.
So he is this crazy licence plateless guy who drinks out of toilet bowls and the Jukskei with his water purifier. Alistair called him "a river crazy". The whole experience was somewhat amusing even if I was a "woman" driver.

On Saturday, I got quite stressed when I got up at 5:30 in the morning and couldn't find my Jukskei project notebook. I got up early to prepare for my English class but then panicked when I imagined my notes were gone. I was so happy to find my book in the Wits lab at 9 o'clock on Saturday morning. I may have been happier sleeping-in, but finding my stuff was a close second.

Today, Sunday, was somewhat overwhelming - environmentalist,  Marian Laserson gave me piles of material about the Sizwe grasslands, that the Jukskei is part of. She has such high hopes for my project. But to really investigate things I need more time. If I were to look into the grasslands, the plans to develop them and the fact they haven't been developed, in the way Marian wants me to, I would take 2 months. I feel I will disappoint her because I cannot study them in so much depth.

Just to explain why I am doing an audio piece on the grasslands- The Juskei river is an essential part of these grasslands and the lack of development, so, far has been good for the river. But the grasslands are prime development material due to their size and location, so who knows what is next. The Public Works Agency owns the land and may want to develop it. The grasslands help clean the river, and prevent flooding as they absorb rain water. The river would fill up with more water in summer should the grasslands surrounding it be developed into housing or office blocks.

I have so many people still to speak to about the grasslands, but so little time. I really am stressed.

Jo'burg water still has not returned my emails.
I now have the MD of Joburg water, Gerald Duma's cell phone number so perhaps it is time to start making some personal calls.

I am really grateful for Marian's help despite her hopes. Her 80-year husband is ill and is facing an op this week. He may have cancer but doctors think it is more likely a benign growth. I feel bad bothering her at this time but she seems eager. I arrived there at 2 and left at 5:30 when I pretty much just got up to leave. I didn't want to be late for church and I think Marian may have talked all night if I hadn't just left.

I hope her husband is ok. I hope I can live up to her expectations with my audio project on the preservation of the Sizwe grasslands and the Jukskei river- in Linksfield. I hope I can include a funny video on the site of Andrew drinking from the Jukskei without being a PR agent. I hope I can stay sane in the next two crazy weeks of madness, deadlines and production.

Dead ends

I am back. Have been at a three day conference about investigative reporting. Completely amazing!

Now it's back to reality.

Tomorrow I am filming someone drink from the Jukskei river. They are using a water purifier called Life Straw. I don't know what I am going to say or how I am going to make it interesting. I am a little nervous. Actually, Alistair my group member is doing the filming but I am doing the organising.

I am feeling quite overwhelmed with what I still need to do regarding this project and very worried that my part-time job is taking too much of my time away from this project. But I am glad we don't have to be finished by tomorrow as I had previously thought. This is a wonderful relief ;-)

I am also a little concerned about how government officials are not getting back to me. They ignore emails and won't answer their phone. I am going to have to push harder. A visit to Joburg water is in order.

I have piles of notes from Bruma Lake meetings where the government made promises to do something about the river then it didn't. Now they just won't speak to me. I feel I have hit a dead end.

Paul, the river guardian, made a huge scene at Joburg water to eventually get a meeting with them. He threatened court action.
It seems only then do they respond. He got a meeting.   Oh well, I will keep calling and keep you posted.

Yaaaay for people returning my phone calls

People are really nice. Perhaps not the Joburg city council who don't seem to know how to answer a phone, but everyone else. Contacts that I am tracking down through Google, regarding my Jukskei articles, are returning my emails within an hour or two.

Now if you have worked for Vuvuzela Wits student paper and had to deal with Wits Admin that will not speak to us; and the Wits SRC that takes days to prepare a media statement over some minor issue; and the political groups on Campus that rudely refer to me as Vuvuzela ( I actually do have a name), then working on the Jukskei project is amazing.

People actually cooperate and give me information- I am blown away.

Today I got this call from  man who thought I was a black male called Kagiso- although I think that is a township and I heard him wrong. Anyway I wasn't a black male with a name that sounded like a township, but when the lovely man on the phone was about to hang up he realised he had meant to phone me, but just not at the time he did. It was David Lindley who works for Mondi wetlands and knows about the Edenvale/Linksfield grasslands that I am writing about. So since he accidentally had me on the other end of the line he answered my questions. I only emailed him yesterday at an address I found through googling his name and the word "email".  It worked.
Yaaay for speedy responses!

There are more nice people in the world-  So I phoned an advocate, who is also a labour broker and is friend of my aunt and uncle, but he couldn't help at the time.  A few days later he phoned my aunt and uncle and apologised and told them I should send him an email. Wow!
Wits admin especially SDLU staff ( I won't mention your names but we at Vuvu know who are are) take note!


Compare an apology with say dealing with Wits' Campus Control head's secretary at Wits. Let just say I don't think she knows what the word smile means or what such a thing looks like. ( will I get sued for saying that?)

Wow - I am blown away at being treated with repsect and help. This other lady, PA to the head of the Bruma Lake Owners Association, is taking time out of her Friday to meet with me to look through a few years worth of meeting minutes about Bruma Lake Clean ups just cause I asked.
She doesn't even know me.

And Andrew, the guy who agreed to drink out the river, or as my blog title puts it- sewer- got back to me too. He is going to let us film him using some water purifier to drink from the Jukskei. Now that is product loyalty! Others may call it stupidity.

Yaaaay for nice people and happy blog posts. ;-)

Does the Jo'burg council do anything?

I am happy. I like journalism a lot and I can't express how wonderful it is not to be teaching English anymore (except for excruciating Saturday classes). But journalism is also depressing - I am still happy though.
it's depressing because everyday I learn more about the government not doing their jobs.

Spot the sewerage- Thanks Stevi for the pic!

I am not looking for bad news even though that's what sells- but the more I ask questions about Bruma Lake- the more I hear bad news. And the toilet smell of that lake is proof of how bad things have become.

Head of the Bruma Lake Owners Association Raymond Shapiro remembers the cold winter's night 15 years ago when residents of Kensington and De Wets Hof met in a school hall to discuss the bad water quality of the lake and what to do about it. At that time there were 26000 Ecoli to 1 litre of water. That's the sewerage count in case you wondering. Somewhere around 200 Ecoli to 1 litre is acceptable, according to water scientist Dr Deanne Drake .

At Bruma Lake the Ecoli count is now close to 2,4 million. Nothing the Bruma Lake Owners Association has done to fix the lake over the last 15 years has worked because of lack of cooperation from the Jo'burg Council.
15 years ago they started petitioning the city council to do something about it.


Bruma Lake

They put bacteria into the lake to fix it in 2003 which was a disaster. Jo'burg city council official Rodney Nay promised to come back and drink the water after the good bacteria had eaten all the bad bacteria. Well now Bruma lake is practically sewerage and Rodney has emigrated to Oz.

At one stage nets were put up under the Queen street bridge to catch litter before it entered the lake. But the council didn't empty them often enough so they got full. Then the river would get higher and would wash the nets away. Basically they were not maintained properly by City council and so they couldn't withstand the river after the rains, according to Shapiro.

Currently the lake smells terrible and the sewerage is visible.

Both hotels on the lake stand to lose their world cup soccer teams that they have been allocated. That's a huge loss of business but FIFA won't tolerate putting teams in hotel that stinks from the inside.There is even a sign inside the one hotel that apologises for the smell.

There is disagreement over how to solve the problem of the lake. The Jo'burg city council wants to do an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). This will take 18 months, meanwhile the World Cup is less than year away.  Paul, river guardian, says the Jo'burg council doesn't need to do an EIA because it is a man made construction and they can apply for permission from the Water Department not to do an EIA. Instead, Paul argues, they should dredge the lake and get rid of all the old raw sewerage filling it up. 
But then there is another problem - where does the sewerage go? It will cost millions to transport it to the only Toxic waste disposal plant in Springs.

The problems are multiple. The causes are too: hijacked buildings in the city centre, sewerage pipes that haven't been maintained, old ones that need to be replaced and a lack of political will to address the problem.
One wonders what the Jo'burg council actually does. They don't answer their phones and when people go there they are all on lunch when it is isn't lunch time.

This grass is growing in Sewerage in an open park

The MD of Jo'burg Water was surprised at the state of the lake when Paul took him there on Monday. How can he not know what is going on? Jo'burg Water is in charge of sewerage and water.He should know and he should also know that Jo'burg water is are doing such a bad job our water is becoming sewerage.