By Celani Sikhakhane
- Mbatha works only 10 days a month, earning R250 a day, but most of her salary goes to food for her family of five.
- She borrows R1,200 monthly from a loan shark just to cover taxi fare from Inanda to Durban so she can keep her job.
For Durban domestic worker Babhekile Mbatha, the cost of living has become unbearable.
The 38-year-old mother from Inanda Newtown B works only 10 days a month, earning R250 a day. Most of it disappears into food for her family of five.
Her household includes her unemployed sister, her sister’s child and her two young children who are still in primary school.
“I only cover groceries with my salary. The grocery alone is over R1,600, even when I go to the cheapest supermarkets,” she told Scrolla.Africa.
Her children’s government child support grant helps pay R900 a month for scholar transport.
But after groceries, Babhekile is left with nothing for her own transport. The taxi fare from Inanda to Durban Musgrave is R55 a day which is about R1,200 a month.
That’s where the loan sharks come in.
“Every 6th of the month I borrow R1,200 from a loan shark for transport. Then I do other people’s laundry on weekends to pay it back,” she said.
Babhekile works for a Durban family linked to the judiciary, but they only call her twice a week to do laundry.
With no chance of extra shifts and the cost of living climbing, she says survival is all she can manage.
Pictured above: A domestic worker.
Image source: Pexels
