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.

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.

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

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!

“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

So what are they going to do about it? If you guessed “Summit” or Indaba”, you’re correct. They’re going to call a summit to discuss how to achieve this. Once again, this means more hot air and less getting down to the jobs we all need to, including those jobs which involve making sure other people are doing their jobs. So aside from the efforts of the few who do work hard and the opposition constantly applying pressure on the ANC to perform, the average man in the street is still going to be waiting for service delivery.

Local Government Elections are just around the corner in 2011. If our Government will not change their crooked and sluggish ways, voters must give them some food for thought at the polls and force them to change, or be changed. –Cllr Warwick Chapman

The Democratic Alliance presented 53 counter proposals for the 103 proposed ward demarcation changes to the eThekwini Municipal Manager on Friday 15 January.

An example of our proposals: Comparison of Demarcation Proposals for Central Durban from MDB and DA.

Having analysed the proposals in detail over the past month, we are firmly of the belief that the determination of ward boundaries has been more than generous to the ruling party since the original 2000 demarcations. During the last 16 years the demarcation process has split communities, produced oddly shaped wards and traversed physical boundaries that separate communities.

In line with the Municipal Demarcation Board‘s legal mandate to “avoid as far as possible the fragmentation of communities”, our proposals seek to reverse the fragmentation caused by the previous changes and the current proposals.

Service delivery at local government level is the major complaint of South African citizens. The time has come for Government to live up to its promises, and optimising service delivery at a ward level is an important basic intervention we can make now.

The DA has thus proposed that the following fragmented communities (split across multiple wards) are once again represented by a single ward councillor: Chesterville, Westville, Clermont, Pinetown, Kwandengezi, Amanzimtoti, Isipingo, Umlazi (Q), Glenwood, Cato Manor, Overport, Bayview, Newlands East, Newlands West, Durban North, Umhlanga and Verulam.

Further proposals have been submitted which, apart from unifying fragmented communities, have tried to honour natural boundaries, avoid road major divisions and compact ward boundaries. We have also endeavoured to separate the rural and urban elements of wards, as their service delivery requirements differ substantially.

The Municipal Manager, having received and acknowledged our counter-proposals, will be required to inform the MDB that there is no general consensus on the proposals within the Municipality and thus request that the MDB run a workshop in eThekwini later this year. The provisional date for the workshop is May 2010, however the DA will attempt to engage in bilateral or multilateral consultation with the ANC and other parties in order to reach general consensus before the workshop deadline.

Anyone wishing to find out more information about this process or the DA’s proposals should contact:
Cllr Warwick Chapman on 083 7797 094 | ward18@ethekwini.org
Cllr Geoff Pullan 083 695 9190 | geoffpullan@iafrica.com

Download the PDF document containing all of the proposals:
2011-da-wdc-counter-proposals.pdf

Sunday Tribune, 24 January 2010

]]> http://warwickchapman.com/da-in-ethekwinis-2011-municipal-demarcation-counter-proposals-pdf/feed 2 http://warwickchapman.com/letter2011-demarcation-process http://warwickchapman.com/letter2011-demarcation-process#comments Tue, 29 Dec 2009 11:56:54 +0000 Warwick Bruce Chapman http://warwickchapman.com/?p=527 Note:  This letter was sent on Friday 18 December and I received a blanket response to it on Tuesday 22 December which is listed below.

The Chairman
Municipal Demarcation Board
304 Orient Street
Arcadia
Pretoria
0083

18 December, 2009

Mr Mahlangu

Reference: DEADLINE FOR CONSENSUS ON 2011 MUNICIPAL WARDS

The press statement in The Mercury of Wednesday December 16 2009 issued by you states that today, December 18, is the deadline by which all municipalities are to indicate to the Municipal Demarcation Board whether consensus has been reached on the issue of ward delimitation for the 2011 Local Government Elections.

The Democratic Alliance first became aware that the new maps were available on 23 November per chance by visiting the MDB website.  The first time we were officially informed of this process by the Municipal Manager of the eThekwini Municipality was at an emergency meeting held on Tuesday after a front page article in The Mercury brought to the fore the lack of attention being given to this process.

At this meeting, Dr Sutcliffe stated unequivocally that the deadline of 18 December was unrealistic and that he had notified you of this concern.  He then instructed all political parties present to provide their input on this process by the 15 January 2010.  All our attempts to confirm this deadline extension with the MDB have been refuted by the officials with whom we have spoken.

The Democratic Alliance has worked hard over the past 2-3 weeks to analyse and understand the extensive demarcation proposals for the 2011 Local Government Elections.  It appears that around two-thirds of the 100 existing wards have been changed and we most certainly have fundamental objections to several of those proposals.

We believe that many of the proposed changes are not going to support the services delivery imperatives of this Government and some of them split communities across wards.  Additionally, we have proposals relating to the 3 additional wards to ensure these three wards are as compliant with the spirit of demarcation legislation as possible while still keeping community and service delivery concerns at the fore.

As a result of both the late availability of the proposals and the lack of consultation by the Municipality, we are concerned that local communities and other stakeholders have not had sufficient opportunity to understand and provide feedback on the proposed changes.

In light of the above, we thus request:
1. you register the objection of the Democratic Alliance in eThekwini to both:
a. the proposed ward delimitation proposals; and
b. the lack of any consultation and communication undertaken by the eThekwini Municipal Manager with respect to this process; and
2. clarification of the deadline for consensus as it applies to eThekwini.

The Democratic Alliance will provide constructive counter proposals at the MDB3 Workshop when it is held in eThekwini during May 2010 (according to the calendar provided with Circular no. 6).

Yours faithfully

Cllr Warwick Bruce Chapman
Demarcation Coordinator: Democratic Alliance eThekwini Caucus

—

Response from MDB 22 December, 2009

Dear Municipal Managers

I wish to convey the MDB’s appreciation to the majority of KZN municipalities that managed to submit to the Board either form MDB1 or MDB2 or MDB3 before or on the closing date of 18 December 2009.

The Board would like to urge the other municipalities that have not submitted a form as yet, to do so urgently.

As you are aware – and as indicated in Circular 6/2009 – the Board will commence with its MDB3 visits to municipalities by February 2010.

Should you be able to submit the outstanding forms by, at the latest, 15 January 2010, we might be able to consider and map the proposals before the scheduled MDB3 meetings.

Should you intend not to submit a form please inform me urgently by email. The MDB’s proposals will then be gazetted for objections.

The MDB appreciates your contributions, and wishes you all the best for the Festive Season and for 2010.

Regards
Robert Willemse
Municipal Demarcation Board

On behalf of the Democratic Alliance in eThekwini, Cllr Geoff Pullan and I have been studying the proposed ward demarcation proposals and trying to make sense whether the proposals have been made in the interests of democracy or to further the interests of any particular party.  There are significant changes proposed for the Highway Area including a split of ward 9 (Hillcrest) into two wards, a reduction in size of ward 10 (Kloof), significant reshuffle of wards 15 and 16 (which appear to benefit one party), no changes to ward 18 (Pinetown), a reduction is size of ward 19 and no changes to ward 21.

Our response to these proposed changes is due this Friday 18 December and should any resident require any information or wish to provide any input, I would invite them to contact me directly.

Being a City or Town Councillor means more than just being one of the “bosses” of that town, attending meetings and deciding how to spend the available funds; it also means using your skills and resources to solve problems on the ground by supporting, motivating and monitoring municipal officials and ensuring work is done.

Councillors of the years gone by were pure policy makers.  The reality of the current job description of a Councillor is far more wide ranging and much of the time involves ensuring things which should “just happen” actually get done.  Councillors who work hard and manage to keep a constructive and positive approach to their jobs will find they get great satisfaction out of a job where they know they are making a significant positive difference to their community and municipality each day.

Having said that, you must be tough and have somewhat of a rhino skin.  The ANC are rude, extremely racist at times, and openly abuse their power to the benefit of their own.  As the DA continues to make inroads into the traditional ANC support-base, the ANC is becoming more confrontational and, basically, taking the DA more seriously.

Be prepared to stand up for what is right and just.  And be prepared to lose.  In the end, however, our efforts never go in vain because we are the conscience that the ANC has dispensed with, and until we are able to govern in towns and provinces across South Africa, our role is thus of critical importance.

Fight the good fight.  Become a DA Councillor.

– Warwick Chapman, Cllr – eThekwini