DA decries Msholozi township ‘sex for jobs culture’

The Premier candidate visited the area this week to launch her party’s Listening Tour.

The DA in the Mpumalanga province is concerned of how the people of Msholozi township are “denied fair access to jobs”, it said.

Leader Jane Sithole launched the party’s Listening Tour in the Mbombela township and said what they found in that township is “saddening”.

“According to the residents of Msholozi township, it is common practice for potential employers in and around the area to ask for money or sex in exchange for jobs,” Sithole said.

She said many women described how violated they felt because they “were essentially being forced into prostitution”.

“And in most times, the promised jobs wouldn’t materialise,” Sithole said.

“It is the most vulnerable members of our society who bear the brunt of a weak economy and who are forced to live without basic services. This leaves them vulnerable to sex pests who use the promise of employment as a means to prey on their vulnerability,” the premier candidate said in a statement.

Sithole, who was elected provincial leader this year during an elective congress, was announced by her party in September 2018 as the Mpumalanga premier candidate.

She promises to change things for the better. She said will restore the dignity of the “province’s forgotten residents” through a programme of accelerated delivery of quality basic services.

She added the people in the area have found hope in the DA despite everything.

“Members of this community welcomed the DA with open arms and committed themselves to working with the DA and its vision for change that builds One South Africa For All,” she said.

(edited by ZK)

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