Warwick Bruce Chapman

The eThekwini Municipality has, at great expense, installed a fibre optic network known as MetroFibre. Since its conceptual stage, MetroFibre has been envisaged as key to providing more cost effective and more accessible broadband services in the municipality’s attempt to bridge the so-called digital divide.

The Connected Schools project aims, in this initial phase, to connect 86 schools to the Internet in areas like Umlazi, KwaMashu, Phoenix, Inanda, Sydenham and Overport . Quite simply, the more access our learners have to the Internet, the more learning and skills development we are going to see taking place.

This sort of project, once properly implemented and maintained, is an example of the sort of positive interventions which municipalities can make, in partnership with other spheres of government, to effect positive change in the lives of people looking for a way out of poverty. We know that in the 21st century knowledge is power.

Providing access to the Internet means providing access to the single largest repository of Information on the earth. Let’s do much much more of it in the years to come.

The Local Government Systems Amendment Act (Act 7 of 2011) was signed into law by the President on 2 July 2011.

In March when it passed unanimously through Parliament the Acting Minister, giving us a hint of the importance that this legislation holds, said, “Local government will never be the same again. This Bill will open a new chapter in local government and help turn it around into a responsive, accountable, efficient and effective local government system that will help accelerate service delivery.”

The Departmental press release from April this year reads, “in some cases Municipalities … are staffed with employees who are not necessarily qualified to undertake their duties. It is for this reason that this Bill makes it mandatory for Municipalities to employ appropriately qualified and competent people.”

The Department goes on to say, “the … Act is aimed at professionalising local government for improved service delivery and performance management…”

National CoGTA Circular 19 of 2011 says of this Act that it “outlines government’s resolve to professionalise local public administration.”

Section 3 of the Amendment Act, (adding section 54A and amending section 56), provides strict new rules governing the appointment of municipal managers and managers directly accountable to municipal managers to the extent that “any contract of employment entered into between the municipality and [the appointed municipal manager or manager directly accountable to the municipal manager] is null and void if the appointed person does not have the prescribed skills, expertise, competences and qualifications…”

Section 5 of the Amendment Act (inserting a new section 56A), requires that a municipal manager or manager directly accountable to a municipal manager may not hold any political office in a political party, whether in a permanent, temporary or acting capacity.

There can be little doubt that these changes seek to address the cancer of cadre deployment at the level of senior municipal management. For nearly 15 years now, political cadres have been deployed to positions of management regardless of qualifications. This Amendment now requires unambiguously that managers henceforth not be politically active and are qualified and able to perform the job at the level required for the turnaround of local government.

The states aims of this act include:

1. Professionalise local government by ensuring that the administrative apparatus of municipalities is staffed by appropriately qualified and competent persons to improve on service delivery.

2. Require employment contracts and performance agreements of municipal managers and managers directly accountable to municipal managers to be consistent with the uniform systems and procedures set nationally.

3. Prevent staff dismissed for serious misconduct (financial misconduct, corruption, fraud) from being re-employed in any municipality for 10 years. Other categories of misconduct now carry prescribed waiting or rehabilitation periods before a dismissed member may be re-employed.

4. Prevent the bloating of municipal administrations in areas that do not constitute the core business of municipalities by requiring municipalities to pass a staff establishment through council and only positions indicated on that establishment may be filled.

5. Amend the Code of Conduct for Councillors to make it illegal for councillors to vote in favour of a resolution which conflicts with any local government legislation.

There is little doubt that this legislation is a response to the ANC’s abysmal performance in Local Government. The opposition in this council has a responsibility to ensure that the measures taken in this Amendment Act are applied in this municipality henceforth.

The Speaker
eThekwini Municipality
Councillor Logie Naidoo

NOTICE OF MOTION IN TERMS OF RULE OF ORDER 13

This council noting:

1. The public, political parties, civil society organizations, trade unions and the chamber of commerce have stated their opposition to the tolling of highways within eThekwini;

2. There is no single, safe, effective public transport system that would provide an alternative to the residents of eThekwini;

Resolves that:

1. Council declares its opposition to the proposed tolls within eThekwini;

2. Council directs the Mayor and Executive Committee to take steps to intervene on behalf of eThekwini residents against the tolls, by engaging SANRAL through the avenues afforded by the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act;

3. That, should SANRAL proceed with the tolling regardless of the engagement, that the metro interdict SANRAL from implementing tolling.

Proposer
WB Chapman

Seconder
A Beetge

Note: The answers are listed below the questions.

The Speaker – eThekwini Council
Councillor Logie Naidoo
City Hall
DURBAN
14 October 2011

Dear Mr Speaker

QUESTIONS IN TERMS OF SECTION 17 OF THE RULES OF ORDER

The enforcement of speeding on our roads is a critical exercise to reducing fatal accidents. “Speed Kills” we are told but there are some serious questions about the ability of Metro Police to enforce speed on our roads.

It is in this regard that I table the following questions:

1. The National Department of Transport has recently committed itself to the International “Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020”. Is the eThekwini Municipality aware of this initiative and are we willing to commit this municipality to support the initiative?

2. How many calibrated and functional mobile speed enforcement equipment does the eThekwini Municipality have currently?

3. Are the cameras referred to in 1. above deployed to enforce speed every day, ie. Are there days when the equipment is not all being used for speed enforcement?
3.1. If not, why not?

4. How many prosecutions for speeding were made in the 2010/11 financial year?
4.1. Of those, how many prosecutions were made on the M-roads and N-roads in eThekwini (eg. M13, Western Freeway, M19)?
4.2. Of those, how many prosecutions were made on other classes of municipal road?

5. Is it true that speed is only enforced on residential roads if the average violation is over 20km/h over the limit? (eg. On a 60km/h road, there must be large number of vehicles travelling at over 80 km/h before enforcement will take place)

6. Are there any plans to increase the amount of speed enforcement taking place in eThekwini?
6.1. If yes, have any targets been set?
6.2. If no, why not?

7. Why do Metro Police continue to place unmanned speed cameras on bridges despite a court order ruling this action unlawful?

8. Given the necessity for increased speed enforcement in residential areas, should the cameras in 7. above not be used to make our residential roads safer.

Yours faithfully,

Councillor Warwick Chapman
Democratic Alliance

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Answers as provided at eThekwini Council Meeting on 30 October 2011:

Councillor ZRT Gumede in her capacity as the Chairperson of Health, Safety and Social Services Committee provided the following respective responses:

1. Yes, Council would commit to and participate in this initiative in any way possible.

2. There are five calibrated and functional mobile speed devices in use.

3. Yes, every day with the exception of when there is severe rain or unplanned departmental requirements, i.e. strike action.

4. A total of 134 712 prosecutions were initiated for the 2010/11 financial year, of these 76 236 were enforced on highways, freeways and main roads. We do not do enforcement on national roads; this is undertaken by KZN RTI.

5. An instruction from the KZN Director of Public Prosecutions is that no prosecutions may be initiated for vehicles travelling less than 20 km per hour over the speed limit.

6. Yes, there is an initiative to increase speed enforcement in eThekwini. We are in a process of converting a large number of red robots cameras to speed cameras thus motorists will not only be charged for crossing red robots but also for speeding.

7. Mobile speed equipment and devices are not left unmanned; however enforcement personnel are not required to sit right next to the equipment. This is for personal safety and health reasons, i.e. sun. There is no such court order preventing enforcement on bridges.

8. Speed enforcement by laser camera equipment may only be performed on sites that have been inspected and authorised by the DPP’s office. The DPP’s office has authorised 72 sites for eThekwini mainly on highways, freeways and main roads and urban roads where the stopping of vehicles is considered dangerous to drivers and pedestrians.

This speech was prepared for the eThekwini Council meeting on 27 September, 2011. The motion was passed by the full council with only the Minority Front abstaining.

Why I now favour speed humps for road safety

As ward councillors we receive many requests for speed humps to be installed by residents worried about their safety and the safety of their families.

One of the requests I submitted recently was for a section of Clark Rd and I explained that between Manning and Bulwer, there is a Childrens Home, Student Residence and two Churches. As many ward councillors will know, the typical response goes something like this:

“Current Council Policy precludes the installation of speed humps on higher order roads” and “the accident record on this road is insufficient to meet the policy requirements”.

On the one hand there is merit to not adjusting the engineering of a road unless there is evidence that there are problems with it, the accident record. Instead, we should be able to rely on regular speed enforcement on our roads as a deterrent.

On the other hand, we know and need to accept at least for now, that our Metro Police are incapable are enforcing speeds on our roads. As I showed last year, Metro Police only have 50% of the staff they need, and I have confirmed that they only have 1 speed timing device for the entire Metro. So, as many have asked, must we always wait until people die before we change the engineering?

I remind council of the protests which took place last year in KwaMashu K-Section because residents were fed up with their children being killed and injured on Nkonjane Road while council stood by and threw the rule book at them.

I used to be firmly of the opinion that we must only change the engineering of our roads where there is a known problem shown in accident statistics, despite the efforts of our Metro police to enforce the rules of the road. Of late, however, I have grown weary of trying to inspire improved performance out of the Metro Police.

If we are honest with one another, we will accept that Metro Police are extremely efficient at issuing parking tickets and staging road blocks. However, active enforcement activities like speed enforcement, interception of wreckless drivers and drivers jumping lights or stops has all but ceased.

I am thus now firmly of the opinion that we need to take practical engineering measures to improve the safety of our residential roads on more roads than we have before. This means both more money and a change in policy.

I understand that a policy review has already been called for, and it is thus against this backdrop that I have tabled this Notice of Motion asking our officials to review the World Health Organisation’s “World report on road traffic injury prevention” and consider the recommendations while undertaking our policy review. Further, acknowledging that we need more engineering interventions, I have asked that the budget for traffic calming measures be doubled for the next financial year.

Thus, considering what I have put before you, I humbly ask for your support in this matter which affects each and every one of us.

Cllr Warwick Chapman | 083 7797 094