Warwick Bruce Chapman

Editor

I write in support of Maj. Gen. TP Reed’s letter of 1 April, 2011. The total dedication with which many of our cops serve is to be respected and appreciated by society as a whole. Were it not for these courageous men and women in blue, who at times a struggle against both criminals and the organisation they work for, we would live in a far more terrifying country.

As is so often the case in life, many of the best leaders and bravest protectors are overlooked on the basis of political and other imperatives. In this instance, issues not central to the effective discharge of the constitutionally enshrined responsibilities of the South African Police Service see many of our most dedicated cops denied promotion, sidelined and discriminated against.

In the South Africa of my dreams, a Police officer is a respected member of the community who anyone can safely approach in times of fear or need. In the South Africa of my dreams, the Police Service is an organisation which does not tolerate criminality, rewards dedication and hard work and promotes those most capable into positions of leadership.

Sections 198 and 205 of our constitution provide specifically for a Police service which effectively prevents, combats and investigates crime in order that we are able to live a life free from fear. I do not believe that on the whole, despite the selfless efforts of the many individuals Maj. Gen. Reeds alludes to, the Police Service is effective in discharging these responsibilities.

Collectively we need to campaign for better leadership, better discipline and the cultivation of a top to bottom culture of service within our Police Service. This issue is undoubtedly a matter of life and death for every South African and should be at the top of our societal agendas along with job creation and service delivery.

In the wake of another horrific fatal accident on the Athlone bridge to Durban North, I would like to make a call for Metro Police and SAPS to target drunken driving at popular sources. Whether the rumours are true or not that the driver who caused this weekend’s accident got boozed up at Blue Lagoon beforehand, Police need to be targeting the sources of our many drunken drivers.

Night clubs and taverns, sporting events and our beachfronts are just 3 sources where I believe we need a special focus. I wonder how many people drive away from rugby or soccer matches over the limit, leave nightclubs and taverns drunk or head off from the beachfront after a day of drinking and braaing. While logistically, such operations could be complex given the volume of vehicles involved, there must be some way of creating a deterrent by randomly testing drivers as they leave the various areas.

Alcohol is said to be the cause of up to 60% of road deaths in South Africa, and we suffer twice as many roads deaths in South Africa compared with the world average. I believe we have a culture in South Africa which needs to change. We need to become used to selecting a designated driver or arranging alternative transport instead of thinking it acceptable to drink and drive. Through vigorous enforcement, Police need to forcefully drive this change in culture.

A TNS research survey released this past week has found that the level of dissatisfaction with service delivery in eThekwini is the highest of the 5 major metros in South Africa. Only Nelson Mandela Metro, also run by the ANC, recorded a worse score than eThekwini.

In eThekwini, 57% of respondents were dissatisfied with the level of service delivery, nearly 20% higher than the same figure for the DA-run City of Cape Town. Cape Town scored the highest of all metros with 57% satisfied with the level of delivery and only 39% dissatisfied, the lowest dissatisfaction level of all metros by nearly 10%.

The time has come for voters to make their choices on the basis of the issues which really affect their quality of life. Unemployment is lowest in the DA-run Western Cape, service delivery is the best in DA-run muncipalities. The Western Cape Provincial Government got the first clean sweep of audits for a province since 1994. Where public funds are spent properly, to the benefit of the public good, it is hardly surprising that the public benefits.

Note: A shortened version of this letter was printed in the Daily News of 22 February, 2011.

Mr Meth, in Daily News 17 February, says that the DA is hypocritcal for “blacklisting” Anna Majavu. Anna Majuva was removed from a mailing list providing DA press releases. She still has access to them via the website and could ask any of her colleagues for them if she needed. This is not blacklisting, it is the DA excercising its own freedom of choice. The DA is is under no obligation to send press releases to journalists which it believes have an anti-DA agenda.

Ms Majavu is still able to attend DA press conferences and report on DA statements. Considering these facts, I wonder how Ms Majavu’s freedoms, the freedom of speech or the freedom of the press been affected in anyway by the DA’s choice not to email her press statements?

Mr Meth would do well to look at the analysis by the ANC-run national Department of Co-operative Governance, and he will see that DA-run municipalities score the highest figures for the provision of basic services and the overall quality of life. I can assure you that even “brilliant public relations workers” would be not be able to convince an ANC-run national department to release reports which make the DA look good.

Core to the principles of the DA is real accountability, not the ANC-style accountability which involves talking about and consulting around corruption and mismanagement and doing nothing to hold those responsible to account. The unqualified audits of the Western Cape Provincial Government for the first time since 1994 and those of all DA-run municipalities are the proof of the application of these principles to the DA itself.

Lastly, as defined in the DA Regulations for the Nomination of Candidates, the definition of “fitness for purpose” explicitly addresses the euro-centric concern expressed by Mr Meth. “fitness for purpose” is described as “the sum total of attributes and competences of a candidate that are most likely to achieve key objectives of the Party, including attracting votes, providing competent activism, contributing expertise and experience, adding to diversity and building the Party’s brand.”

Note: This was published in the Daily News of 26 January, 2011

The ANC’s recent u-turn in their thinking about ‘decent work’ is yet another symptom of the conflict within the party. ‘Decent work’ is a phrase which found popularity during the heated debates during 2010 about the ‘slavery’ of labour brokering which employs nearly a million South Africans. The left in the ANC promote this concept as part of their utopian view of the South African economy, while the rest of the ANC argue that its implementation will do more damage than good.

The reality, however you look at it, is that some work is better than no work. There are, however, abuses which take place in the labour brokering industry, which is why is must be more tightly regulated to ensure the conditions within which temporary employment takes place are as close to providing ‘decent work’ as is possible. Banning labour broking altogether will put hundreds of thousands more South Africans out of work and Government knows it.