Marion Edmunds and Lungile Madywabe=20
Tim Singiswa, Hillbrow’s homeless candidate, has=20 nothing to lose by standing for the local=20 government elections in Hillbrow – he is homeless,=20 disabled, has no job or material possessions, save=20 three or four pens and some grubby certificates.=20
What he does have is self-confidence, ambition,=20 grand plans and a glib tongue that would do any=20 member of Parliament or Senator proud.=20
“I want to develop Hillbrow, bring in more=20 development,” Singiswa said this week — at 6.30am=20 on the pavement outside the Usindiso Shelter for=20 homeless people in Kotze Street.=20
Gesticulating towards the historic Johannesburg=20 Fort, he said: “This could be turned into a mega=20 shopping centre and …and then I will demolish the=20 old unused buildings in downtown Hillbrow and=20 build a place for the local traders who are=20 currently being terrorised by Brazilian drug=20
Singiswa is acutely conscious of the high levels of=20 crime and abuse in Hillbrow, so much so that he is=20 determined to keep a low profile in the run-up to=20 the elections in case “the sharks get him”. =20
“I don’t want to alienate them now …but I will=20 emerge three or four days before the elections and=20 make a stand.”=20
To the detriment of his campaign, Singiswa’s name=20 is probably better known to newspaper editors to=20 whom he writes regularly, than to the residents and=20 homeless of Hillbrow. One of his fellows, Benjamin=20 Nkutha commented: “Ee! The guy who was standing=20 there this morning, he does not speak to us, he is=20 not used to us, he has been with me for one year=20 but has never said good morning. That is why a lot=20 of people don’t know him.”=20
Others are more sympathetic. Isaac Mongane said:=20 “Although I don’t know him, he is part and parcel=20 of us and I would appreciate that we have someone=20 from our midst in the government structures because=20 they know of our plight.”=20
Once he is elected, Singiswa promises to wage a war=20 against crime single-handedly so that Hillbrow=20 regains its respect and the community starts to=20 repair. He has also applied to become a police=20
He wants to build play grounds and dormitories for=20 Hillbrow children, many of whom sleep on the=20
Singiswa’s early childhood memories are of a farm=20 near Stellenbosch where he and his 10 siblings grew=20 up. But his family was forcibly moved to the=20 Transkei by the government in 1975. There, his=20 family life disintegrated and he later moved to=20 the Northern Cape where he finished his schooling.=20 He appears to have drifted from job to job and lost=20 an arm in a bad car accident, the circumstances of=20 which he is unsure.=20
“It was at the time that I was dabbling with=20 drugs,” Singiswa said, “and I can’t remember=20
That is all behind him now as he squares up to a=20 new future, not only as a politician but also as an=20
He has registered a company called Tim’s=20 Audiovisual and Communication Company. He wants to=20 set it up in a Hillbrow flat which he says he is=20 in the process of buying with the help of a=20 government subsidy.=20
The only income Singiswa has, however, is from=20 begging. He scrapes together R20 — R40 a day from=20 the streets, a portion of which is spent on=20 newspapers which he reads from cover to cover. He=20 doesn’t pay rates and taxes but he believes that=20 all property owners should.=20
His view of the Government of National Unity?=20 Singiswa looks stern, possibly distressed, in his=20 dirty jacket and scuffed shoes. “It lacks=20 accountability..I have faxed and phoned Tokyo=20 Sexwale, Jesse Duarte, Jabu Moleketi and Ben Turok=20 and I could not get appointments. So I have now=20 stopped badgering the government.”=20
Singiswa heard on the radio that anybody could=20 stand for the elections, and “knowing that a=20 mammoth task was waiting”, took the gap.=20
“I said to myself, let me take a chance, maybe I’ll=20 get the authority to do what should be done.”=20