I attempted to lay a charge of intimidation on behalf of the members of staff who chose yesterday not to go on strike but were forced to stop work by a mob of strikers who came into the Civic Centre Offices and intimidated them. The SAPS require more details and witnesses for the intimidation charge to be laid but Municipal workers affected are too terrified to speak to me.

I have distributed letters around the office requesting employees provide me information via email, SMS or slipping it under my door in the Civic Centre. I am sure SAMWU will slip a dead fish under my door as a result.

Municipal Manager, Dr Mike Sutcliffe, has been made aware of the charge being laid and is in support of this action.

I strongly condemn the actions of the striking workers who have broken the law several times today.  I have thus appealed to other municipal employees to disclose the names of those persons responsible for the damage and disruption today.  While I am aware employees are fearful of disclosing such information, I am making the opportunity available to them.  See the letter below in this regard.

I will immediately be attempting to lay a charge a charge against SAMWU and its shopstewards for the crimes committed.  The charges are outlined in the second letter below.

Date: Thursday 25 March
Time: 2pm
Venue: DA Boardroom, Councillor Support Services on the Mezzanine level, Shell House

Please also be reminded that the full council meeting will take place from 10am in City Hall.

Your attendance would be highly appreciated.

A sign at the North Beach Metro Police Station

During the long weekend where we celebrated Human Right’s day, the Durban Metro Police were again implicated in rounding up street children. This time they also detained a foreign journalist who they suspect captured their activities on camera. The irony of this incident was that the journalists were in Durban to cover the Street Children’s World Cup and not to cover the brutal campaign the City is suspected to be running against street children. Last week the City issued a press statement confirming it does not have a policy of roundups, nor does it support one. Until the City adopts a proper policy for the sustainable management of street children, Metro Police must be reined in and focus only on those individuals committing real crimes. — Warwick Chapman

“Death Road”
Cllrs Macpherson and De Boer proposed a motion which would have seen urgent measures taken place to improve the safety of “Death Road” on the M4 Ruth First highway between Broadway and Virginia in Durban North. The proposal suggested barriers be installed to separate the lanes and Metro Police establish a permanent unit to monitor that road. The ANC dismissed the motion with contempt suggesting the proposers were not following protocol despite the numerous efforts by councillors with City officials to see action taken.

The Deputy Mayor went as far as suggesting the DA Cllrs were trying to further protect their “leafy suburbs” while other parts of the City were in a significantly worse condition. DA Cllr Heinz De Boer clarified that “if the Mayor chooses to admit other parts of the City are in a poor state, that is his prerogative and shows up the lack of action by the City and councillors in those area, but as the Councillors responsible for Durban North and Umhlanga, we are doing our jobs as demanded by our communities.”

“Street Lights”
Also dispatched with a stunning display of arrogance and personal attacks was the motion proposed by Cllrs Chapman and Lindsay seeking that a task team be setup comprising councillors and officials from the Metro Electricity Department to urgently address the high number of faulty street lights in the City. Lindsay contended that despite 6 months of trying to get the Electricity department to fix over 200 faulty lights in the Pinetown New Germany area, little or no action had been taken.

Chapman explained that with the FIFA World Cup coming up and noting the serious impact that poor lighting has on crime, the DA wished to see councillors working together with Electricity Department officials to resolve urgent lighting and safety issues ahead of the big event. Again the ANC, through Cllr Reddy, used protocol as their excuse to sideline this constructive proposal.

Chapman, referring to the treatment of both proposals, said that “the ANC chose cheap politics over urgently needed service delivery in what is indicative of the attitude which has seen the gradual decline in support for the ruling party and spawned service delivery protests all over the country.”

– Warwick Chapman (Cllr Ward 18) | 083 7797 094 | ward18@ethekwini.org | http://warwickchapman.com