Warwick Bruce Chapman

ANC supporters often plead with me that South Africa has come along way since 1994 under the ANC and we should recognise their contribution instead of focusing on the problems. One even reminded me that the ANC could’ve murdered us all if they wanted and suggested we should be thankful for that.

As a true liberal, I should laugh at such a comment, but in Africa, considering the post-colonial track record, I most certainly do appreciate the ANC for having taking reconciliation seriously.

However, as to recognising the contribution of the ANC since 1994, I struggle a little more. South Africa should have progressed further and improved the lives of more people than it has in the last 16 years.

The state of education in particular, is a travesty. Education is such a crucial issue to the empowerment of the poor and one which many young ANC members died fighting for. One cannot fathom why the ANC didn’t handle it in the world class manner it did Finance and SARS.

The poor management of the Department Health means facilities and human resources cannot cope with the burden of healthcare and, again, it is the poor ANC voter who suffers the most.

Then there’s service delivery, crime, land reform, agriculture, water and a hundred other areas which government is responsible for which have been poorly managed and are now not serving the country the way they should be.

The ANC was a most noble and historic organisation but its legacy as a liberator and moral compass of the world is being quickly replaced by that of just another a corrupt, inefficient and power abusing governing party.

I am becoming increasingly aware that most South Africans don’t full understand the structure of Government in South Africa and how our electoral system works. Below I have attempted to summarise this as best I can.

Government in South Africa comprises 3 separate but related spheres:

• Local Government = Municipalities and the elected Public Representatives (politicians) are councillors.
• Provincial Government = Provinces and the Public Representatives (politicians) are MPL’s (members of the provincial legislature)
• National Government = South African Government and the Public Representatives (politcians) are MP’s (Members of Parliament)

In Local Governments, half the councillors are directly elected to represent the people living in municipalities’s wards and the other half are “Proportional Representation” or PR councillors and are chosen by the party on the basis of the % the political party won. Thus there are twice as many councillors as there are wards in a municipality. Usually PR councillors are “deployed” to shadow the ward councillor in another ward with a view to winning the voters of that ward over in the next election.

Only in Local Government is any politician elected directly – ie. you vote for a person. In the rest of the spheres the political parties choose who will be appointed.

Thus, if a politician must be replaced in the Provincial or National spheres, the party just replaces them.

In the local sphere however, because ward councillors are directly elected, a by-election must take to allow the community to elect a new person to represent their community.

All SA reps are elected for 5 year terms.

Dear The ANC

There was a time during the liberation struggle when it was acceptable within your organisation for people like Robert McBride and Andrew Zondo to kill in the name of the fight for freedom.  During that time also, your organisation sang songs promoting further violence against the racist white oppressors at whose hands so many black South Africans suffered.

The ANC and its Allies fought against a corrupt racist nationalist Government which believed in white supremacy and denigrated black South Africans in both legislation and language.

Our hard won democracy signalled the end of that struggle era and we were ushered into the miracle of the new South Africa under the leadership of Madiba and urged to work together to create a nation where all would prosper.  Our Constitution and the rule of law no longer allows the ANC or any other person or organisation to accept violence or killing as a means to an end.  Further outlawed was the legislation and hate speech which had been the main instruments of the Apartheid state’s oppressive regime.

How then can it be acceptable to the ANC that a struggle song which uses language of violence and racism should be allowed to be wheeled out of the pre-Democracy era museum and again performed to crowds by leaders as influential as the President of the ANC Youth League?

Nobody will soon forget that there was a song which included the words “dubulu ibhunu” (Ayesaba Amagwala), just as nobody will unfortunately soon forget that putrid K-word which was used to denigrate black South Africans.  The fact that these two forms of hate speech should be banned out of use altogether does nothing to deny their previous existence and prominence.

The vacuum of decisive leadership and apparent lack of commitment to the letter and spirit of our non-racial democracy in the past months has left me wondering what the legacy of the ANC will be.  Will the ANC be remembered as the liberators of South Africa and the architects of Africa’s first successful post-colonial society? Or, will they be remembered, as ZANU-PF in Zimbabwe will, as the creators of a kleptocracy which betrayed those people who fought and died in its name?

Those of us in the opposition find we are fighting what is now almost certainly a corrupt racist nationalist Government which believes in black supremacy and discriminates against white South Africans in legislation and now condones denigrating them in language too.  Is this how you wish to be remembered?

I appeal to you to show leadership, reinforce the non-racial spirit of our democracy, and in the best interests of our future, reorientate your organisation such that your legacy is one you could be proud of when your great grandchildren ask about the ANC and the nation it united.

Yours in South Africa

Warwick Bruce Chapman

As a result of the resignation of Terence Palmer as a councillor, a municipal by-election will be held to replace him in Ward 10 (Kloof/Gillits).

Details are as follows:

Note: A by-election will be held in Newcastle on the same day.

Voter Registration
Continued registration at Hillcrest Sizakala Centre, 22 Delamore Road 07h30 to 15h30 weekdays (excl. public holidays) until 25 March only. Alternatively, voters can register at IEC offices in 75 Winder Street (08h30 to 17h00 weekdays).

Cllr Gill Noyce
The Democratic Alliance has nominated PR Councillor Gill Noyce to stand in this election. Cllr Gill Noyce can be contacted on 082 800 0943 or email on gnoyce@zamail.co.za

What is a by-election?
Each Ward in the City (eThekwini) is represented by a councilor on the City Council. In the event that a sitting councilor must be replaced, a by-election is held by the IEC which allows residents of that ward to choose who will represent them on the City Council.

Who can vote in the Ward 10 by-election on May 5 2010?
Anyone who is a registered voter AND is registered in one of the following six voting stations:
Kloof Town Hall
Gillitts Community Hall
Kloof High School
Hillcrest Library Activities Room
Kloof Tennis Club
New Life Family Church

Note: Voting stations are open from 7am to 9pm on 5 May 2010

How can I check if I am registered in one of the above stations?
You can check if and where you are registered using the following methods:
• SMS your ID number to 32810
• Call the IEC on 0800 11 8000
• Use the IEC website and type in your ID number: https://www.elections.org.za/AmRegister/AmRegister.aspx

Can the DA remind me to go and vote on 5 May?
Yes, send your street address, email address, ID number (so we do not have duplicated records in our database) and cell number to com2@kzn.da.org.za and we will ensure you are reminded on election day!

The ANC chose to vote down two DA proposals which had won the support of the MF, IFP and other mintor parties that seeked to urgently intervene in resolving dangerous safety concerns which affect the lives of eThekwini residents.

“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