Homeless but not voteless in ward 28

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Vincent Sivalingam has been homeless since the beginning of Covid-19.

The 48-year-old former Clover Dairy employee, who was retrenched three years ago, had been able to pay the rent on his Northdene home by doing odd jobs plastering and working as a kitchen hand for a catering company.

The Covid-19 lockdown cost Sivalingam his livelihood and his home and he ended up on the street.

Despite this, Sivalingam, who is now living in a city shelter, was among those who turned up to cast their vote at the polling station set up at the Denis Hurley Centre in Durban’s ward 28, on Monday morning.

The centre, attached to the Emmanuel Cathedral, not only acts as a voting station every election, but also runs a programme to ensure that homeless residents who are part of its outreach and support work, are registered to vote in the ward where they live.

“I am very happy that I got to vote today. I got my ID book through the Denis Hurley Centre. After I got my ID the social worker was able to help me to get the R350 [social relief] grant. They were the ones who helped me to try and get off the street,” Sivalingam said.

The former Chatsworth resident has voted in previous elections and said he believed it was important for him to keep on doing so.

“Everybody should vote. In a way it is a contribution. We all play a part in this society and we choose who can run things,” said Sivalingam.

“Things became very bad for me because of the 21-day lockdown. I was unemployed for three years but I had jobs here and there so I could carry on and pay the rent.

“When Covid came and the 21-day lockdown I lost my home. I’ve been living in shelters, in the tents [the city’s homeless centres set up at the beginning of the lockdown]. I still don’t have a place of residence but I’m trying,”’ he added.

Sivalingam said unemployment and poor social support services were among the key issues on his mind when he voted.

“There are a lot of problems caused by unemployment — homelessness, crime,” he said.

The Hurley Centre provides meals, health services and other support to Durban’s homeless people. It also assists them in getting identity documents and, as one of only two centres in the country administering Covid-19 vaccinations to undocumented people, it provides innoculations daily.

The centre first introduced the voter registration programme before the 2019 national and provincial elections, when more than 200 homeless people living in the ward registered and voted, said Hurley Centre director Raymond Perrier. Another 50 registered for this local government election.

“These are people who all have lived experience of abuse at the hands of the authorities and of being disregarded. The role of the centre is to assist vulnerable people to rebuild their lives and part of this is helping them access their right to vote,” Perrier said.

He said six political parties had been invited to address a meeting of homeless residents ahead of the polls. Four of the six had participated.

Residents of the city shelters in the North Beach area and Greyville voted in their wards, while those voting at the Hurley Centre lived in Albert Park and other areas around the Durban central business district, Perrier said.

Calvin Poswa arrived to vote along with Sivalingam.

Poswa, 37, from KwaThema, Springs, came to Durban three months ago to look for a job and a new life.

With no money, no support structure or friends to turn to, Poswa ended up on the street and lost his identity documents.

“At least now I am working as a security officer and am staying in a shelter. I’ve been voting ever since I was old enough to become a voter,” Poswa said.

“I am here to vote. I’m used to it. Now that I’m registered here I want to vote because I have my favourite party which I always vote for.”

Poswa said he was voting for jobs, development and for government support for the poor.

“We are suffering here. I’m voting for jobs. Government needs to give bursaries to young people; to look after the poor people; feed the poor and try to improve their lives,” Poswa said. “We should care about each other and stop all this hatred and racism. We are all South Africans.”