By Palesa Matlala
- A one-way taxi trip to Rustenburg costs R75, leaving most unemployed youth unable to drop off their CVs.
- With no jobs and no help from the government, young people in Leromo are shovelling mud off roads to earn coins from passing drivers.
In the small village of Leromo in the North West, job hunting is a luxury that many young people cannot afford.
Just getting to the Rustenburg central business district costs R150 for a return trip, money most do not have.
Nicholas Kgabo, 31, said he gave up on job hunting years ago. “I used to borrow money from neighbours just to go and drop off CVs,” he said.
But after failing to find work, he had to borrow from someone else just to pay back the people he owed. Now he has stopped looking altogether.
Kgabo has a university degree but works in a local bottle store, stocking fridges, cleaning and selling drinks.
“I make about R2,600 a month. I do it just to survive,” he said.
He told Scrolla.Africa that it’s tough growing up in a place where there are no opportunities. “In the North West, it’s either you are rich or you are poor. There is no in between.”
He finally got his job after a businessman from India opened a bottle store in Leromo and offered him work.
Other young people in the village are finding different ways to make money.
Modise Motsepe and two of his friends collect soil from the road after the rain and throw it onto the pavement. When motorists drive past, they give them small change.
“When we were three, we only made about R120 a week to share. Now I work alone and I sometimes make that in one day,” said Motsepe.
He admits the job is difficult without help, but it puts food on the table.
Despite the province being rich in minerals, young people in the North West say they are tired of waiting for jobs that never come.
Pictured above: Leromo Bottle Store
Image credit: Palesa Matlala
