Warwick Bruce Chapman

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

In a letter written from the Department of Correctional Services to the Human Rights Commission apologising for the claims made by the head of the Westville Prison, the Department states that Mr Mabanga “could not provide any tangible information or documentation in respect of his comments over the Human Rights stance with regards to the electric fence”.

The letter goes on to state that Mr Mabanga “is not totally informed of the status of the electric fence” and that the fence depicted in the picture in the Daily News 24 February “is still under construction” and “not operational”.

As the councillor who represents the community bordering the prison, I find it totally unacceptable that the head of the Correctional Centre appears to have lied about the stance of the HRC on this matter and additionally that he was not sufficiently informed about the status of the electric fence. I sincerely hope his replacement does a better job.

A copy of the letter is available here.

Note: English below.

Local community learns that the DA cares for them

Esikhathini esingaphezu kweminyaka engaphezu kuka 15, umphakathi wase Paradise Road kwaDabeka ubhekene nenkinga yamanzi avuzela cishe emizini eyisithupha. Imizamo yabo yokuthola uMasipala kanye nekhansela lendawo ukuba bangenelele, ayiphumelelanga.

Ngokufunda ephephandabeni ukuthi iKhansela lasePinetown ukuthi libizwa “ngomalungisa e Pinetown”, umhlali wakwaDabeka ube esexhumana noKhansela u Warwick Chapman ngenhloso yokuthola usizo.

uKhansela Chapman ulusukumele ngokushesha loludaba wavakashela indawo yakwaDabeka izikhathi eziningi ngenhloso yokuzibonela izinkinga zomphakathi waze wathatha nezithombe. U Chapman ube eseluthatha loludaba waludlulisela emnyangweni wezamanzi kuMasipala okwenze ukuthi nawo umnyango uhambele lendawo izikhathi cishe ezine. Lokho kuholele ekutheni ezimbili zalezindlu zilungiswe, ezinye ezimbili kutholakale ukuthi zinabanikazi abazimele ngakho babesebaziswa ukuthi kumele bazilungisele.
Noma kusobala ukuthi umphakathi walendawo usulahle ithemba ukuthi izinkinga zawo zizolungiseka, kodwa uKhansela Chapman uzibophezele ukubona izinsiza nentuthuko ifinyelela kubantu.

“Lenkinga ngizoyibeka ohlelweni lwezinkinga ezidinga ukuqashwa kube kube ziyaxazululwa. Akusikho nje ukuthi lenkinga inomthelela ekulahlekeni kwamanzi alinganiselwa ku 40% kuMasipala, kudwa ihlukumeza nesimo sokuhlala emphakathini, ilimaza amakhaya futhi ibeke isimo sezempilo engcupheni” kusho u Cllr Chapman.

Isakhamuzi sakwaDabeka, ongama laso siligodlile, limbomge kakhulu uCllr Chapman ngokuzinikela kwakhe. “Lelizwe liyasebenza uma linabantu abafana nawe kanye nozakweni abenza umsebenzi okufanele wenzeke” kusho lesakhamuzi. “Ukuzinikela kwakho siyakuqaphela futhi nomphakathi esiwakhele uyashintsha indlela okubuka ngayo nokubona lokhu okholelwa kukho”.

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Local community learns that the DA cares for them

For over 15 years members of the Paradise Road community in Kwadabeka have had to put up with a serious water leak running through at least six of their properties. Their efforts to get City water officials or their ward councillor to assist in resolving this issue have failed.

After reading in a local newspaper that the Pinetown Councillor was being referred to as ‘Pinetown’s Mr Fixit’, a resident of Kwadebeka contacted Councillor Warwick Chapman in early November 2009 to see if he could assist.
Councillor Chapman has visited the site several times to find the leak and document and photograph the extent of the issue. Chapman provided all of this information to the City’s Water department who have visited the site at least four times since the issue was reported. At least two leaks have been repaired and another two identified in private homes. The owners of these homes have been notified of their responsibility to fix the leaks
While many local residents have lost hope of this issue being resolved, Councillor Chapman is adamant that service delivery must take place.

“I will keep this issue on my list of open issues until it is resolved. Not only does this issue contribute to the nearly 40% water loss experienced by the City, but it affects the quality of life of the local residents, and it damages their buildings and creates potential health hazards,” said Chapman.

The Kwadabeka resident, whose name we have chosen to withhold, thanked Councillor Chapman for his ongoing efforts. “The only reason this country works is because of people like you and your colleagues who do the jobs that need to be done,” said the resident. “Your efforts do not go unnoticed and our communities are changing their perception of who you are and what you stand for.”

Note: This was updated and published on 8 January in the Highway Mail as an article instead of a letter.

Dear Editor

Pinetown will be the focus of my attention in Ward 18 for 2010 and quite possibly the years to follow. Infrastructure maintenance remains a priority in the ward and though significant progress has been made in 2009, Pinetown has a long way to go in this regard. Additionally, I believe that the town was never designed for the extent to which it is currently pedestrianised and I will be focusing on formalising the many footpaths which cut through green areas in Pinetown. An example of this can already be seen in the work in progress in the front of the Pinetown Civic Centre where the disused concrete walkway is being cleaned up and and made more presentable and the footpath from Crompton Street to Old Main Rd will be paved as soon as funds become available.

Further to the infrastructural and pedestrian issues, the Pinetown Precint Plan which incorporates wide ranging proposals to revitalise the CBD of Pinetown will be tabled before the eThekwini Economic Development and Planning committee in the first meeting of 2010. I am hoping the plan, which has been many years in the making, will be approved at the meeting, allowing us to present it to the greater Pinetown community for comment.

Crime in Pinetown and the surrounding areas is a major concern and while Councillors are not empowered to influence the fight against crime directly, I am confident that slowly but surely “cleaning up Pinetown” has to make a difference.  We need to ensure infrastructure maintenance is prioritised, parks and gardens and tended to, buildings are painted, windows are fixed, paths are formalised and, in general, the area is revitalised.  I am firmly of the belief that criminals do not thrive in well maintained areas.  Crime loves grime – we need to get rid of the grime.

Additionally, I will be working with SAPS and Metro police to prioritise the policing of minor transgressions such as urinating in public, ignoring rules in parks and traffic violations.  The major crimes must be investigated and are always the top priority but it is high time that chancers and petty criminals learned early on that crime doesn’t pay.  I urge all residents to assist in the fight against crime and get involved in your local Community Policing Forum.

As always, residents are welcome to contact me should they have any municipal issues they have not been able to resolve through the normal channels.

– Warwick Chapman (Cllr Ward 18) | 083 7797 094 | ward18@ethekwini.org | http://warwickchapman.com

The beachfront development is a massive undertaking which will hopefully, like the new stadium, give tourism in Durban another shot in the arm. Why though, does it seem so difficult to get the basics right during the construction? Why out of 6 showers at North beach do only 2 work? Why are there dangerous heaps of twisted steel and concrete, rubble and materials on the beach and promenade? How difficult is it for the relevant officials to get 6 working showers on the busiest beach in Durban? Equally, surely it is in the interests of public safety to remove dangerous rubble, steel and concrete from the beach?

eThekwini is not getting enough of the basics right and these are but two of many such examples we experience on a daily basis in our City.

I would, however, like to applaud Durban Solid Waste for getting going with the cleanup at the beachfront promptly on the morning of the 2 January. It goes without saying that the amount of litter generated by the hundreds of thousands of New Year’s day beachgoers is massive and DSW have their work cut out cleaning it all up. They however, seem to have the basics right – they arrived, and they got started.

– DA Councillor, Warwick Chapman