To be involved in the workers’ struggle takes a lot of time and sacrifice. Bangizwe Mathenjwa, a local chairperson of Richards Bay local, has a unique way of dealing with pressure that comes with leadership. He grows vegetables on a small piece of land in his yard.
Living in Esikhawini, a well-built township on the north coast of KwaZulu Natal , he is a full time shop steward at Bayside Aluminium, a local chairperson and a trustee for the Pension/Provident Fund for KwaZulu Natal.
On average he spends 80% of his time in meetings and yet when he arrives home, he changes to personal protective equipment, from head to toe, he takes his tools and proceeds to his small garden.
The garden is green with vegetables, you would think a woman is tending it but it’s just him who makes it a point that the garden looks sharp. His neighbours have followed suit, they too are cultivating.
When asked how he is coping, he says, “Every day when I’m around I work in this garden. This is where I take out all the stress of the day.”
He has become a provider to his neighbours. He shares with them the first fruits all the time. They offer to buy but he refuses and just gives them away for free. He issues a challenge to all in Numsa and Cosatu, “gardening is very good exercise, other comrades should look at doing the same on their small pieces of land.”