Shirley Ebrahim does not know where to turn. She owes the eThekwini council R22 000 in arrears in rent and services for the tiny flat that she occupies with her four children, aged from seven to 17.

“It was very nice when I first came here 15 years ago. I was working in a clothing factory and I had some money,” says Ebrahim. “But things started going down when I lost my job. Now I can’€™t make ends meet. I can’€™t pay the council the R400 it wants a month. I can’€™t even afford to send my oldest child to school. He was turned away because he hasn’€™t got books. The other children go to school hungry and I had to ask the school to give them food.”

Less than a third of Bayview residents are employed, according to council statistics. However, according to a survey conducted by the Bayview Flats Residents’€™ Association in 1999, 88% of residents are now unemployed.

Four years ago, Ebrahim’€™s electricity was disconnected and her water reduced to a trickle, along with those of other struggling residents in Bayview. But after three flats caught fire from residents using paraffin burners and candles, the residents’€™ association illegally reconnected all residents’€™ water and electricty.

“So we are now stealing water an electricity,” says Ebrahim. “And nearly every month, the council workers come and want to cut the lights again.”

Every month, in addition to her mounting arrears, a “meter tampering” charge of R820 is added to Ebrahim’€™s debt. And although the council has offered to transfer the flats to residents, it demands that arrears are paid in full first.

“How can I ever pay off my arrears when my children are hungry and I don’€™t even have money for food?” asks Ebrahim, who survives solely on goodwill and occasional washing and ironing work.

The one consolation is the local clinic, which has been converted from solely a family planning and baby clinic to a primary healthcare clinic that treats minor ailments free of charge. According to eThekwini’€™s nursing services, the clinic has a staff of four and sees an average of 2 600 patients a month.

Another plus is that residents say there is little racial or religious tension amongst residents. However 90% of Bayview residents are Indian.

Ebrahim feels that Bayview residents are being shunned by the ANC-controlled council. In the last election, the Democratic Party and Minority Front won the seats in the area.

Residents’€™ association chairperson Brandon Pillay, who has been organising the area for the past four years, says Bayview residents are not being treated the same as people in Umlazi.

“In Umlazi, people don’€™t pay rent and there is a flat rate for rates. But here, people are told they will only get ownership of their houses if they settle their arrears, pay a R650 transfer cost and then continue to pay monthly levies of almost the same amount as people now pay in rent. It’€™s a rip-off.”