III 20
6.8. IMPACT ON RELATIONSHIPS TO SOCIETY AND STATE
The needs for food, shelter, care and security are primary values, which according to Smith (1997) should be met for all human beings. These are needs which do not vary with tradition or culture and which are historically constant. The discussion in the above sections reveals that some families were marginalized economically, politically and psychologically. While the issue of marginalisation was not very easy to uncover in this study, families however did express feelings of marginalisation. Many examples in the previous sections exist to illustrate this argument. This section aims to discuss and clarify some of these examples further.
One of the characteristics of a marginalized group in most relocation areas according to Cemea (1997) is loss or under-utilisation of previously acquired skills. The following subsection discusses the impact of relocation on human capital of the displaced people.
6.8.1 Human capital
Some households commented that the shortage of land meant that people's time was not being productively used. Including her own family in her comment, Ms Msomi of Dinabakubo sees no progress: people are just sitting down doing nothing (Ms. Msomi, pers. comm., 10 March 2001). This condition is further exacerbated by the fact that, even though this community is closer to employment opportunities than before relocation, most people are unemployed including the youth.
This is also true for households in Ntuzuma. Mr Thabede chose to come to Ntuzuma so that he would at least be closer to the work place. Employment opportunities in the formal sector of the economy are now limited and the negative implications of the choice he made are now realized in the long-term. He is now a state pensioner, but is unhappy to be home doing nothing. He believes, had he been in Ngcolosi (the original place), he would be cultivating land and herding his livestock, thereby supplementing the R540 state pension he is currently earning. Because of insufficient land in Ntuzuma, he is forced to stay at home "doing nothing but to watch the sun rising and setting" (Mr.Thabede, pers. comm., 24 November 2000). These are examples of social marginalization since these families have lost economic power as they went on a "downward mobility" path.
This however is in contrast with the experiences of those households in the control area, Imbozamo. While Mr Mtolo of Mbozamo is a state pensioner as well, he is however happy to be at home and not worrying about what to eat. He can go out to the fields, cultivate land and supplement the state grant ofR540 (Mr. Mtolo, pers. comm., 16 January 2001).
Mr Mt010's skills in other words, have not been rendered inactive or useless even though he is old.
Besides lost human capital, a drop in social status as a result of loss and abandonment is evident amongst some dam relocatees. The following subsection discusses the experiences of dam relocatees with regards to changes in social status that have occurred.
6.8.2Social status
The issue of losing access to acceptable housing raises many questions of justice, since this impacts negatively on the social status of households. In the relocation areas the neighbours regard the relocated people as "squatter settlers". Such names as "tin town", used in relocation areas, describe the negative perceptions people have of the relocated households. Their battle to challenge the status quo, discussed in the next chapter, clearly indicates that there are elements of neglect and abandonment. This has affected the families since they now believe that their citizenship as South Africans is not fully recognised. Mr Msomi remembers telling one white man (from a government department) who came to visit the "tin town" in Dinabakubo:
A white man would not allow his dog or cat to live in here, instead he would say, the puppy will die, it is too hot here, it is too cold here, and his cat will be sick. But me as a human being useful in government, paying all kinds of taxes, I am human and alive but have been made to live in this kind of environment. The government budgeted money to buy land, to buy these tins and toilets and provided us with water at that time, however where did the budget to build our houses go, where did it go? (Mr. Msomi, pers.
comm., 10 March 2001).
This quotation further provides evidence of social injustice at a broader level. Mr Msomi expressed a concern that the dam relocatees have been dehumanised, that their lives have been reduced to even below the lives of white people's pets. In this case householders compare their quality of life with the quality of life of other human beings.
All relocatees interviewed are concerned that the dam is operating and it serves recreational purposes by allowing such activities as jazz festivals, canoeing and fishing to take place. It supplies water to the greater Durban Metropolitan Area and contributes to national economic growth. All these benefits however do not reach the former residents of the area instead the families are battling to reconstruct their quality of life.
It also appears that, where families were self-sufficient with a high degree of independence, all that has vanished. The following quotation illustrates how some families link loss of access to livestock and changes in social status:
Cattle have many uses to us. Loss of access to cattle lowers a man's dignity, attachment to tradition, loss of access to fresh milk, and the like. Now we cannot freely practice our Zulu culture, instead we are now forced to buy expensive cattle from commercial farmers (Mr. Msomi, pers. comm., 08 January 2001).
What exacerbates the feeling of loss is that the main losers compare their living conditions with the living conditions of their neighbours who are living better lives. Watching other people progressing where no positive changes are taking place in their lives constantly reminds these households of the better life they had in the original areas.Inother words the perceived importance of good housing, good quality water, easily accessible and affordable energy, land, etc has increased in cases where these tangible objects are no longer adequately available in the new areas. The argument by Mr Ngcobo of Dinabakubo illustrates this:
When I see the dam from here (the upper area of the Valley of a Thousand Hills), I realize what an intelligent initiative it was to build it. It is beautiful and I really appreciate that it was built. When I think back and recall what we lost, however, and compare it with the kind of life we lare living now, and then compare this life with the good living conditions of our neighbouring communities, tears come out of my eyes (Mr. Ngcobo, pers.
comm., 12 December 2000).
This quote and the discussion in this subsection challenges the model by Hankiss (1983) on quality of life discussed in Chapter Three. According to Hankiss there is a peak where the perceived usefulness of a good or a service will decline as a result of it being no longer offered or available. Figure 6.7 below is a revised version of this model, which attempts to describe the experiences of Inanda dam relocatees. The dam relocatees have not got used to the loss of certain resources (e.g. their land, good housing) and the perceived usefulness
of these objects is increasing not declining.
Perceived utility function Perceived
utility
Stagesinaccess andIor lack of access to a good over time
Figure 6.7 Graphic presentation of the relationship between perceived usefulness of a good/service and access or lack of access to it over time
The numbers 1 to 5 in figure 6.7 above represent the five stages. Number 1, is the situation where there is no possibility of obtaining the good or service, therefore perceived utility is low. Number 2, represents the situation where opportunities to obtain the good or service prevail, therefore perceived usefulness increases. Number 3, represents the condition where the good is obtained and consumed. The perceived usefulness therefore stabilizes or
culminates. Number 4, represents the situation where a particular individual is deprived of access to the good or service, therefore making it more desirable. According to Hankiss, (1983) when the good or service remain unavailable, perceived usefulness will decline further (Number 5 in figure 6.7).
The researcher argues that for the Inanda dam relocatees, the relationship has tended to follow the broken line on the diagram above (Number 6). This shows a continuous increase in perceived usefulness of tangible goods and services after these became unavailable.
Hankiss was not specific on the type of goods and services to which the argument applies.
But the findings of this study reveal that the dam affected mainly the historically and culturally invariant needs for water, shelter, food, security and care, which Smith (1997) defines as primary values. All householders always enjoyed access to these tangible goods.
When these became unattainable and continue to be unattainable, the perceived usefulness of these objects by householders continues to increase. People continue to feel neglected, unsecured, dehumanised and thus marginalized.