CADASTRAL BOUNDARY I~
3.8 Local Residents and Workers
business owners, the hostel dwellers and other interested parties, which would help in fighting crime and restore the business owners' confidence. Another point that emerged was the need for a certain amount of planning and guidance by the municipality ifinvestment is to be attracted back to the area.Consideration would also need to be given to global competitiveness and to the identification of clusters of suitable industries, which might be viable. Again the need for incentives to encourage development and investment was raised. For example,if a property owner refurbished his site,there should be a rates rebate, or some other form of tax exemption for a limited period of time. On the question of where the area should be placed institutionally for redevelopment, the Professional Advisors all felt that the area should be part of the SDB.
This group also pointed to the need for the infrastructure to be upgraded because it was designed for the previous industrial era and is unsuitable for modem industrial practices. Another issue was the need for better housing for the workers to curb the issue of people squatting in Melbourne's vacant buildings.
group, namely the youth who were staying in the hostel. However, this was unsuccessful as they were not interested and most of them wanted to be compensated for participating.
The researcher judged this as a factor that might lead to bias as they might answer questions untruthfully. .
3.8.1 Profile of the local residents and workers
The group members were not from around Durban but had come to the city to seek employment. Their homes were in the rural parts of the province like Nkandla and Kranskop, South Coast and Zululand. All those interviewed live in the Dalton Road Hostel. The women stayed with their husbands while the men stayed either with relatives or others in their compounds since the hostel offers also accommodation to people who are both single and married, all of them hoping they would find themselves jobs in the city.
Most of the respondents stated that they had been staying in the area for more than five years though they often visited home at month ends and during the holidays. The length of time they had spent in the hostel enabled them to observe what had been happening in The Melbourne Road area and they have views about the factors, which led to the decline of jobs. Nonetheless, there were some (7) who were new in the hostel having spent only seven months there.
3.8.2 Sources of income and employment
Some of the women stated that their spouses supported them, although they conduct informal trading on the streets to assist their husbands who work in the area.
In men's the group of men who were employed some worked on a part-time basis (contracts), while others were street vendors, selling bovine products, traditional beer, fruits and vegetables. They use tables and umbrellas and they also had shelters along the pavement. Others ran barbershops and telephone booths.
Some of the older men stated that they were affected by the closing of firms and they ended up being forced to work as security guards. This forced their wives to sell on the streets to ensure that there was an income. Even the women conceded that they were affected as closure of firms' impacts on them because they lost their markets.
The younger and better-educated men inevitably got better paying jobs and often moved with the firm when it moved to another area.
Most of the men reported that jobs were lost as firms were closing down, while those firms coming into the area hired young people for better positions. The women added that most of the new firms were using mechanised processes and thus were hiring less people.
Increasingly jobs are offered on a contractual basis, but permanent employment is available to the educated and qualified people.
3.8.3 The hostel and other residential options
The group members responded that they did not have a problem living in the hostel.
Some even stated that staying in the hostel could now be regarded as their second home. They were comfortable there, it was close to work and so they could save on transport costs. To them, the hostel brought them closer to work opportunities and that was why they do not mind staying there. At the same time they stated that staying in the area enabled them to conduct small-scale businesses. For the women the only source of discomfort was the high level of crime around the area. The area was previously male dominated, however there are now women staying with their husbands.
When questioned about residential preferences, most of the men stated that they did not mind where they stayed as long as the area was next where they work. Both men and women traders felt that life in hostel was satisfactory.
Most of the men felt that a degree of renovation of the hostel was necessary, but added that they were quite comfortable with the current situation except that there was a lack of permanent job opportunities within the area.
Interestingly,this group also commented on the negative impact of crime,making the area unpleasant and dangerous, and reducing the opportunities to work overtime.
They were unhappy about the growing rate of neglect of the public environment and drinking on the streets in the area.
The respondents felt that the hostel still served the purpose of housing people,~ough what seemed to happen is that most of the people stay there for a long time. This means that space does not become available for new people who want to move in.
Although they are satisfied living in the hostel, they complained about the crime levels, which made them uneasy especially at night.
The respondents felt that the only way to clean up the area was by cooperation with the business owners. However, they felt that there was little chance of this working unless the municipality played a facilitating role to promote cleanliness in the area.
They also expressed the need for a community-policing forum and suggested that businesses could employ local residents to provide security for their premises.