His argument that the municipality would have to dramatically increase rates to cover the costs of these additional officers are no doubt accurate. The eThekwini Municipality under Dr Sutcliffe’s management have handled the finances of the municipality so poorly that a full forensic investigation has been called by the Provincial Government. In the past financial year alone over R500m of irregular expenditure occurred – an amount equal to the entire Metro Police budget for this year.

The remainder of the City Manager’s response deals with the marginal decrease in eThekwini of “assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm” compared with other Metros. This argument is completely missing the point as it is the core responsibility of Metro Police to enforce the bylaws of eThekwini and not to reduce the rate of violent crime – as that is the role of SAPS. One would have expected the Municipal Manager to know this.

Our proposals indicate that a fully resourced Metro Police could well support SAPS in such activities but in the main Metro Police would focus on bylaw and traffic enforcement and targeting specialised crimes which affect the people of eThekwini, such as drugs and cable theft.

It does not take a revelation from the DA to see that Metro Police are not fulfilling their mandate. While the recent progress in the Drinking and Driving Unit is commendable, the rest of Metro Police remains grossly under-resourced as has been indicated in our prior press statements. This reality is supported by the non-response to a set of questions submitted over two weeks ago. The last question relates to an incident where only one officer is alleged to have been on duty for an entire night to cover the Pinetown and Queensburgh Metro Policing areas. The Chatsworth anti-drug Unit would not have been shut down if the shortage of Metro Police resources had not required the core members be transferred to staff the new Umlazi station.

Durban Metro Police are in a sorry state and it affects the quality of life of all who live in eThekwini. A DA government in eThekwini would prioritise getting our City Guardians back on their feet so we can manage our communities and grow our economy in a safe, responsible and law-abiding manner.

Holiday seasons offer our city a prime opportunity to put its best foot forward and show visitors what we have to offer and in so doing, encourage them to keep coming back. The unsightly construction work taking place on the prime promenade, the Golden Mile, a week before the Easter break does exactly the opposite. After a walkabout yesterday to inspect the readiness of the beachfront for the holidays, I was met by incomplete construction work, untrimmed vegetation and dying palm trees and still empty restaurants built before the World Cup. Our beachfront is sorely in need of the proper management and attention to detail which can make it the best holiday location in the country.

The Golden Mile is eThekwini’s best asset for marketing the City. Our sandy beaches, warm ocean temperatures and tropical climate mean that we have the perfect ingredients for a year-round and world-class tourism product. What we don’t have right now is the commitment and co-ordination by the city council to ensure that we leverage these ingredients into a recipe for real success. A successfully managed, safe and polished beachfront will attract increasing numbers of tourists to Durban every year, increasing economic growth and job creation.

The DA-run city of Cape Town enjoys a large market share of the local and international tourist trade precisely because it has developed itself as a tourist centered city committed to offering all visitors a safe, enjoyable and memorable stay. Cape Town has recognized that tourism holds massive potential for employment opportunities and economic development and attracts large amounts of foreign and local revenue into the city helping to stimulate the local economy.

Under a DA led administration we will ensure that maintenance and upgrading of our key tourist assets is regular and planned outside of key holiday periods. Our tourism assets across the city will all be included in a detailed asset register and will be set down for scheduled inspection on a regular basis. This will ensure that any construction will cause the minimum disruption to both tourists and locals alike. The development of sustainable ‘new’ tourism initiatives in other parts of the City will be prioritised. Township, rural and adventure tourism potential in eThekwini presents major growth and job opportunities but require professional development support and ongoing management of the greater tourism environment by the City.

The DA-run city of Cape Town has shown that a focused and organized commitment to developing tourism assets yields big dividends as more visitors flock to the city. There is no reason why we cannot do the same here in eThekwini. I will commit our DA administration to delivering on the potential which our beautiful city offers and place us at the apex of tourism destinations where we rightfully belong.

“The DA will bring the promise of opportunity to the people of eThekwini through clean and efficient government.”

The dream which was laid before South Africa in 1994 by the father of our nation was founded on the opportunity which the new South Africa presented to its people. Opportunity would now become available to all South Africans to improve their lives and the lives of their families. Government’s role would be to expand opportunity and provide the poorest of the poor with the means to take advantage of that opportunity.

The eThekwini Metro provides a clear example of how poorly performing local governments rob people of opportunity. Corruption and the emphasis on political grandeur waste scarce public funds, cadre deployment reduces efficiency and the mismanagement of departments compromises the ability of the municipality to deliver. The bottom line is that less money is available to a less efficient council to roll out the services and infrastructure needed for opportunity to abound.

The AGSA reported that R500m of irregular expenditure occurred in the previous financial year. Remant Alton collapsed our bus service, taking millions of Rand of public funds with it. Treasury has spent R500m developing a Revenue Management System which is 5 years late and R400m over budget. In the 2010/11 financial year, council only built 8500 of the budgeted 16000 houses. The Durban Metro Police Service has a vacany rate of 48% with 1056 posts unfilled.

These are but a few of the failures of the government of the past 5 years to deliver opportunity to the people of eThekwini. A DA government in eThekwini will make the delivery of opportunity to all the cornerstone of its programme of delivery through capable leadership and a focus on the many developmental imperatives of our City.

Capable leadership is a requirement for all DA governments. The DA recognises the crucial role leadership plays in ensuring that transparency, accountability and efficiency are the foundation of effective local governments. The significant developmental challenges which face our City can only be overcome through tight and efficient expenditure of funds, developing a passion for delivery in the 22000 employees of the municipality and through an unwavering commitment to create jobs through economic growth while protecting the poorest of the poor.

A DA government in eThekwini will ensure total transparency of the council and tender process to eradicate corruption and increase the business done with emerging contractors. In the City of Cape Town, the DA introduced transparency. All Council meetings and Mayoral Committee meetings were opened to the public. So too were all meetings of the Bid Adjudication Tender Award Committee which decides all contracts between the City and outsider suppliers.

A DA government in eThekwini will ensure infrastructure and services are rolled out in an efficient and cost-effective fashion in order to provide the foundation for growing our metro economy and creating jobs. In the City of Cape Town, investment in infrastructure that benefits the public and supports the economy rose from R950m in 2004/05 to R3,1 billion in 2008 and 3,5bn in 2010/11, an increase of over 300%. The DA tripled spending on repairs and maintenance from R800m/year to R1,6bn/year.

A DA government in eThekwini will ensure that the system of housing is overhauled to rid it of corruption and dramatically increase the provision of housing. The post-2006 City of Cape Town government has built three times the number of houses its predecessor managed and rationalised the housing waiting lists to ensure the poorest benefit first and list corruption is eradicated.

A DA government in eThekwini will ensure maximum expenditure against capital budgets and infrastructure grants and ensure that debt collection is improved. From 2006, the DA increased the percentage of Cape Town’s capital budget spent from an average of 65% under the ANC to well over 80% and as high as 97% in 2008/09. The DA’s greater collection rate benefited the poor: By the end of 2007, 16% of the poorest households in Cape Town experienced an actual reduction to their municipal account.

A DA government in eThekwini will attend urgently to the desperate state of our Metro Police Service and ensure they are engaged in reducing crime and enforcing the laws of our City. In its first 100 days in Government in 2006, the DA in the City of Cape Town allocated R56.8 million to fund critical posts in the city, particularly for nurses, fire-fighters and police services.

The track record of DA governments across the country speaks for itself. Corruption has been virtually eradicated making more public funds available for developmental priorities. Well maintained and reliable infrastructure in a safer and more attractive environment along with the lower cost of doing business has meant economic growth is higher and unemployment is lower in DA-run municipalities.

The DA will bring the promise of opportunity to the people of eThekwini through clean and efficient government. The DA is the only party with a track record of delivering corruption-free governments that deliver economic growth, infrastructure and services, poverty relief and community safety. Voters can now compare this track record with that of other parties and make an informed choice who to lend their vote to for 5 years.

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.

Here are two opinions on the effect of the formation of NFP on the KZN political environment:

ANC Project
The NFP is a very sharp, ANC supported move to finally collapse a very sick IFP. They will go into coalitions throughout the province installing some ANC mayors and some NFP mayors. In time we will see a DA/ID style MOU which sees the NFP collapsed into the ANC.

The DA will continue to be a sideshow to the main act of ANC/NFP kill IFP. The DA will grow less than the ANC will grow and will have to wait until the next LGE to finally start making some inroads.

DA Coalitions
The NFP will not go into an Allaince with the ANC. Most NFP followers love the IFP as a party but hate its leaders. The bigger picture here is 2014, the NFP will be looking to entice IFP voters and they can’t do that by sleeping with the ANC. There is a greater possibility of an alliance with the DA than with the ANC. Remember the NFP is taking ANC people in numbers even though it is not shown in the media.

1. The DA delivers twice as many houses in the City of Cape Town than the ANC were able to when they ran the City. Across all DA-run local governments and in the Western Cape the DA delivers more, better quality houses than any other party.

2. The Gauteng Planning Commission’s Quality of Life Survey ranks the DA-run Midvaal Municipality as the province’s top municipality for quality of life. This year Midvaal’s achieved its 8th unqualified audit report in a row. Clean, effective local government.

3. The DA understands what the word “accountability” really means. The DA fires corrupt politicians and government officials instead of moving them somewhere else.

4. While unemployment increased by 1% in all other provinces in the aftermath of the recession, it decreased by 1% in the Western Cape, driven by Cape Town’s healthy economic growth. More than 50000 people move to the Western Cape every year and unemployment is still dropping. Better Government, more jobs!

5. The Democratic Alliance allocates significant resources every year to invest in a year long development programme for inspiring young leaders – the Young Leaders Programme develops tomorrow’s great leaders today.

6. The DA-run Western Cape Government became the first provincial government since 1994 to be given a clean audit by the Auditor General of South Africa – and it achieved this after only one year in office.

7. The DA-run City of Cape Town reduced crime in the CBD by 90% and the Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrading programme reduced crime in Khayelitsha by 24%.

8. The Cooperative Governance Department’s 2010 Universal Household Access to Basic Services survey showed that nine in ten residents of the DA-run Cape Town have “universal access” to basic services – a higher proportion than any other metro in the country. On each of the individual service delivery metrics, the DA’s performance stands head and shoulders over that of the ANC-run metros.

9. The DA is the most multi-racial party in South Africa and has a proud history of fighting for liberty through the Apartheid years and in the new South Africa.

10. The DA tables significantly more parliamentary, provincial and council questions than the rest of the opposition parties put together, exposing more dodgy dealings, wasted expenditure and mismanagement than any other party. The DA tables more reports, policy proposals and discussion documents than any other party. DA politicians do the job the public pay them to do!

(Bonus reasons)

11. Helen Zille, now Premier of the Western Cape, won World Mayor of the Year in 2008 for her efforts in leading the turnaround of the City of Cape Town in only 2 years. Helen Zille is a courageous and principled woman who has been fighting for liberty from her younger days as the journalist who uncovered the murder of Steve Biko to today’s tough leadership during a difficult political climate.

12. BBBEE deals in the City of Cape Town have increased dramatically since the DA took over the municipality. DA-run municipalities grant tenders using an open-to-the-public tendering system which applies BBBEE legislation as it was intended – to empower a broad base of black entrepreneurs.

13. The DA is a party that delivers for all and prioritises growth and job creation. The DA is more effective in government because DA-run municipalities focus resources government’s core functions: basic service delivery, revenue collection, bulk infrastructure development, local economic development.

My parents are Ex-Zimbabwean and came to SA in 1980. Family all live up in Ballito. I’m in Pinetown in order to best do my job as Ward 18 councillor.

2. How did you get involved in local politics, and what motivated and inspired you to do so.

I used to be a supporter of the ANC. During the 2000′s that waned to the extent that I joined the DA in 2007 out of the blue. Fortunately I made it onto their excellent Young Leaders programme for 2008 and that set the tone for the years to come. In 2009 after the General Election, I took an opportunity to stand in a ward where the councillor had moved to Province and was elected in June 2009.

3. Who are your role-models.

My parents are examples of the sort of people that make the world a better place. Mandela would never have been able achieve what he did if there wasn’t a significant number of reasonable people out there willing to choose the middle road. So on the one hand, my parents inspire me to be good, wholesome and to cherish family. And leaders like Madiba inspire me to have conviction, believe in the prosperous South Africa we want become, and fight for the balance our democracy requires before we will see that.

4. What did you do before you became a councillor.

I ran at IT business for 10 years. I am a bona fide geek turned politician.

5. Tell us a bit about your family.

My brothers are both younger than me, though there’s only 3.5 years between Barry, the youngest, and myself. My parents were both deeply affected by the Rohdesian Civil War, my mother losing her legs as a teenager from a landmine blast and my father being the victim of a few blasts while on service. Much of my motivation comes from not wanting to see that sort of violence happening in South Africa as it has over most of post-Independence Africa. We can and must be different.

6. Do you enjoy your job.

I find my job both infuriatingly frustrating and very rewarding. I am frustrated at the crippled state of our local government, the low quality of services which result and the wastage of money which occurs through poor management and corruption. I am infuriated regularly by the cheap politics employed in the face of severe poverty and suffering, and I am regularly incensed by the liberal use of the race-card. However, there are so many people out there both in need of help and willing to help. Many city officials do everything they can to do the best job they can, and many people can be helped by me directly. The knowledge that I can directly make a difference for people who really need it as well as the desire to see the gradual improvement in the quality of our City government provide me with all the motivation I need to counter the negatives.

7. Have there been moments in your career when you thought you were going to fail at what you were doing.

I have failed. I failed to ensure that Pinetown SAPS was provided with the sort of quality senior leadership it needs to fight the significant crime wave in the area. The tradeoff was that several significant operational improvements have taken place as a result of the pressure and focus. I still maintain that Pinetown SAPS needs a station commander who is passionate about the morale and performance of his/her officers in the significant fight against crime in the area.

That is my biggest failure so far. I am certain I will fail again. Will I fail in my bigger mission to help make South Africa the prosperous Rainbow Nation which Madiba helped us dream about? Perhaps, but I sincerely doubt that. Our democracy will see the balance it so desperately needs in the coming decade and through that will come the good governance required to service the needs of the people and create the opportunities people need to make their lives better.

8. What was the proudest moment in your career.

I couldn’t say really. I’ll be proud when I know the future of our country is secure.

9. What was the most embarrassing moment in your career.

I really messed my first interview as a potential council candidate. As my MP says, I really screwed it up. Thank goodness they chose to give me a bash anyway.

10. Tell us something about you the public doesn’t know.

I attend the KZN Philharmonic at the City Hall as often as my calendar permits. I find the performances liberating in the same way that doing a hard workout in gym is – you need to sit still, be quiet, listen and take it in until its finished.

11. What are your goals, ambitions, and future plans.

Have a family. Inspire people to live a life of peace and love (Yes, I am an Amakhosi fan). Be a major contributor to securing our democracy and ensuring our government is the first truly good government South Africa has ever known.

12. What are your likes, interests and hobbies.

I rowed a lot at university and after. I enjoy overlanding (4×4) especially north of South Africa. I have a 1990 Land Cruiser and am about to buy a 1980 Mercedes, so I guess I have a thing for old cars. I am a genuine geek, and administer several Linux servers and applications for projects within the party.

13. What message would you like to give to the people in your Ward for the upcoming election.

If you are not yet registered to vote or if you have moved since the last election, please register 5/6 March. Then on election day, please vote on who you think will govern eThekwini best. Leave the rest of the issues for dinner-table debates. We need good governance – vote for the party you believe has a proven track record in delivery.

In the eThekwini Council, the IFP sit to our left, and we are forever bamboozled by their voting patterns on council issues. In the nearly two years I have sat on council, I have no idea what informs their positions or what role the IFP plays in eThekwini let alone in KwaZulu-Natal.

The reality is that the IFP is a party which had a role to play in the bad old days when it represented the interests of the oppressed majority in the KwaZulu homeland, of which the Prince was Chief Minister. Since 1994, however, the relevance of that role in the new South Africa has been questioned by voters, resulting in the IFP consistently losing support in the last 4 general elections, from a high of over 2 million votes in 1994 to just over 8 hundred thousand in 2009.

Then IFP MP, Gavin Woods, said in 2004 that the IFP “has no discernible vision, mission or philosophical base, no clear national ambitions or direction, no articulated ideological basis and offers little in the way of current, vibrant original and relevant policies” and importantly, that the party “must treat Buthelezi as the leader of a political party and not the political party itself.”

I believe that Magwaza-Msibi and her followers wanted to modernise and transform the party beyond the restrictive context of being led by Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi and representing the interests of Zulus. The Prince, a former member of the ANC Youth League, founded the IFP in 1975 and has led the Party for the last 36 years – too long by any international guideline on business or political leadership.

The total decline of the IFP is inevitable and the ANC, DA and NFP will fight overs its remaining voters in the coming local government elections and will cleanup in the 2014 general election. That leaves just one race-based one-man party left in KZN. History will show that parties like these survived too long and in the end ultimately only served to the benefit of their leader-for-life.

Any consolidation which takes place will do more for the perception that the is DA growing rapidly than anything else. The ID is at the end of the road and other smaller parties are much, much smaller than they were before and the road ahead is looking bleak for them. If they are willing to adopt the DA’s vision of an Open, Opportunity Society for All and agree to comply with our regulations for the selection of candidates (we want the best people for the job), then they will be brought into the fold.

The rocking of the ANC boat will involve the DA winning far more municipalities in 2011 and in more provinces than we currently govern (1 Gauteng, Several WC, 1 EC). Helen has made it clear we’re not here to win for the sake of winning, we have to win in order to govern well and demonstrate what the OOS4All means to people on the ground when put into action.

“As most ANC-run cities broadly subside and most DA-run ones broadly prosper, the political effect becomes a little like compound interest. You don’t notice it at first but after a while it really begins to matter. A lot. It’s about doing your job – everyone doing their jobs -properly.” – Peter Bruce of Business Day

We will use that platform of demonstrating good good government to win over more voters and hopefully win more provinces in 2014 and show the ANC they no longer have a monopoly on power in South Africa and that if they don’t shape up, they might be shipped out in 2019.

Basically, like it or not, democracy needs balance and thus a successful DA will bring balance to our democracy. The DA’s success is thus South Africa’s success.

Note:
A comment by Zackie Achmat in his piece “Is the DA the racist old National Party in disguise? Is the ANC inexcusably arrogant?“, lamented “the DA’s rigidly free market pro-capitalist dogma”.

An interesting outcome of the Congress was the voting down of a proposal to restate the DA’s committment to free market principles. The proposal was rejected because we acknowledge that interventions we support such as a wage subsidy are in conflict with the rigid rules of pure free market thinking. We are, instead, liberal in our approach to the economy and thus the strict free market rules do not apply to the exclusion of all others.

Like so many things in life, a balance in inevitably what is needed.