Warwick Bruce Chapman

In a letter written from the Department of Correctional Services to the Human Rights Commission apologising for the claims made by the head of the Westville Prison, the Department states that Mr Mabanga “could not provide any tangible information or documentation in respect of his comments over the Human Rights stance with regards to the electric fence”.

The letter goes on to state that Mr Mabanga “is not totally informed of the status of the electric fence” and that the fence depicted in the picture in the Daily News 24 February “is still under construction” and “not operational”.

As the councillor who represents the community bordering the prison, I find it totally unacceptable that the head of the Correctional Centre appears to have lied about the stance of the HRC on this matter and additionally that he was not sufficiently informed about the status of the electric fence. I sincerely hope his replacement does a better job.

A copy of the letter is available here.

Note: This is an article produced for the DA West Durban Constituency Newsletter.

DA activists honour the legacy of Nelson Mandela by cleaning Crompton Park

Keeping parks clean, planting trees and providing safe spaces for people to rest and play is a priority of Warwick Chapman, the new DA councillor for Ward 18 (Westville North, Cowies Hill, & Pinetown CBD).

“Parks and other green spaces are important meeting, resting and social spaces and need to be properly maintained in order to ensure they contribute to rather than detract from the social fabric of the community,” says Chapman.

Crompton Park, on the corner of Sunnyside and Crompton Roads, is a green space that has been allowed to deteriorate. It is not uncommon for many illegal activities to happen there, including the trade in drugs and the sorting of stolen goods. The DA chose to clean up Crompton Park as one of its many activities in eThekwini Municipality to mark Mandela Day. This unique day, celebrated across the world to honour the humanitarian legacy of former President, Nelson Mandela, required individuals to contribute 67 minutes of their time to community service. More than twenty DA activists and public representatives gathered in Crompton Park and filled approximately 70 large refuse bags with litter from the park.

Other recent cleaning projects organised by Councillor Chapman include two cleanups in Lahee Park in June. This park moved from a veritable litter dump to clean and green, and the City Parks Department is committed to keeping it that way.

Residents can make a difference by encouraging one another to keep these spaces green and clean. “Crime loves dirt and grime, so let’s get cleaning and greening,” says Councillor Chapman.

Stuart Knight addressed the Westville CPF meeting which I attended last night as a result of crime happening on the N3. Stuart is a practical man with practical solutions. I’ve said before that Africa, and South Africa’s problems are not complex; they just require practical and implementable solutions which are actually put into practice.

While I don’t have a copy of Stuart’s address on hand, the message was clear. The police need as many eyes and ears as they can get; a CPF with 50 members is far less effective than a CPF with 3000 members spilling into multiple sub-forums.

Stuart was chair of the Town Hill CPF for 5 years and in that period they supplied the SAPS with all the intelligence they needed to virtually eradicate crime from their area. Stuart contends that Town Hill police officers arrest far more people these days for minor offences such as piddling in public or crossing the road when the man is red than for the serious crimes of the past.

Another point Stuart made was that CPF’s are not a forum to bemoan the service of the Police. If you have an issue with the performance of your Police station, you need to take that up in the Police service through the correct channels.  If you fail with that, go straight to the station commissioner and speak with them directly but if your intention is to run in there cursing and blinding then expect to be fobbed off.

Stuart’s address was refreshingly practical and possible. All of those people who are either victims of crime or don’t want to be should put a little time and energy into their CPF; feed a little intelligence to the Police; and be more caring toward those who have less than they do and the results may be beyond their wildest dreams.

Things you can do:
1. Attend your CPF meeting and take some people with you.
2. Put all the relevant emergency numbers on your cellphone, make sure you know 10111 and the number of your local SAPS office.
3. Report *anything* suspicious to the police:
3.1. Suspicious vehicles (make not of make, colour and plates)
3.2. Pedestrians with heavily laden bags (make note of clothing, build)
3.3. Any form of suspicious after hours activity
3.4. Crimes which suggest complicity of security companies
3.5. Make a note of the serial number of all expensive electronic equipment which could be stolen so it can be traced; without this pawn shops and dealers in stolen goods cannot be nailed

Most importantly, the number of people active in the CPF must grow. If you have 30000 residents in your area, you want 3000 members of your CPF and all its sub-forums. Those eyes and ears will feed the police with all the intelligence they need to stop crime in its tracks.