Warwick Bruce Chapman

Dear Editor

I’m tired of the abundance of professional whingers I have to deal with on a daily basis. Too often do I hear throw away comments about how “the municipality does nothing” for our rates and taxes. Such statements demonstrate a level of ignorance which should have no place in the South Africa of today. In eThekwini we patently have water, electricity, excellent roads, reliable refuse removal (recycling), beaches, pools, uShaka, ICC, and yes parks and gardens – even though many spaces aren’t maintained as well as they should be.

Further, a huge proportion of our budget is spent spent rolling out infrastructure, services and housing to parts of the City where there were none before. How many of these professional moaners have actually driven to Waterloo or through the new KwaMashu town centre or visited Bridge City and seen that despite the many issues facing this council, money is actually spent relatively well.

I continue to be stunned by the number of people quite happy to say things like “we get nothing” for our taxes or “the government does nothing”. Do yourself a favour, go to Zimbabwe or Mozambique or Angola and spend some time there. Perhaps then you’ll stop taking for granted the services our governments provide.

And don’t get me wrong, Cape Town refers, we could and should be doing more and better but we’re hardly doing nothing.

CLLR WB CHAPMAN
Glenwood

A quick and simple email as the real one below sent tonight can be the difference between the lights being fixed in a week or a month. Do your bit and report lights when out.

If you think the council is taking too long to fix the lights you reported, please feel free to escalate through me.

Email to: custocare@elec.durban.gov.za

“Dear CustoCare

Please attend to faulty street lights in Glenwood on pole numbers:
- 34, 32, 30, 28, 26, 24, 22 and 20 on Nicolson Rd
- 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 36 Esther Roberts Rd

Regards
Warwick”

Despite assurances that the planned illegal evictions in Cato Crest had been stopped, late this afternoon residents were surprised when 5 dwellings were destroyed in what would appear to be a politically motivated action.

Today at 3pm the DA’s councillor in Cato Crest Hlanganani Gumbi and DA Spokesperson on Housing Cllr Warwick Chapman met with Mayor James Nxumalo to discuss the illegal threats of evictions in Cato Crest by the ward councillor and ANC Branch Executive Committee in the area. While the meeting was taking place, unknown to the DA or the Mayor, earthmoving machinery demolished 5 dwellings in Cato Crest.

Mayor Nxumalo and Chairperson for Human Settlements Cllr Nigel Gumede both unequivocally stated the evictions must be lawful and alternate accommodation must be provided. Mayor Nxumalo requested that the DA compile a formal complaint and submit it to the Muncipal Manager Mr Sbu Sithole as soon as possible and forward a copy to his office. He assured the DA that an investigation would take place from the City Manager’s office into how it is that a political structure of the ANC could be handling evictions and demolitions in Cato Crest.

The demolitions which were taking while the meeting was being held were undertaken under the supervision of the ward councillor’s assistant who is said by community members to have told them that, “We are coming here to show you that you must move”, and after demolishing the structures said, “Now you can call your DA.”

Cllr Gumbi, took affected residents to Cato Manor SAPS to lay charges relating to the demolition of their structures and destruction of property, however SAPS declined to open any cases. “We were told not to open new cases but instead to meet with the investigating officer Tuesday morning to include these charges in the existing case”, said Cllr Gumbi.

Cllr Gumbi has spend the better part of 48 hours working with community members to stop this illegal action. The SAPS have been extremely reluctant to enforce the law and prevent these illegal evictions. Only after senior MPs and MPLs intervened was any assistance from SAPS forthcoming. At the demolitions which took place today, SAPS did not respond.

The DA reiterates its full support for the eradication of shack settlements and the provision of formal housing in eThekwini. We however require that each step in the process of converting shack settlements into formal housing are undertaken lawfully and with respect for the dignity of those affected as a result. “We condemn the direct involvement of political structures in the work of our City government and cite it as a blatant example of the conflation of party and state”, said Cllr Chapman.

“We call on Mayor Nxumalo and City Manager Sbu Sithole to intervene as a matter of urgency and stop any further illegal action. SAPS also need to ensure they enforce the law without favour.”, said Cllr Gumbi.

MEDIA QUERIES:
Gumbi 076 288 8844
Chapman 083 7797 094

PHOTOS:

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ENDS

Why are we not focusing on crime prevention in South Africa?

“South Africa has had a comprehensive crime prevention policy agenda for some time in the form of the 1996 National Crime Prevention Strategy and the 1998 White Paper on Safety and Security. Despite this, prevention has remained very much a second cousin within the South African criminal justice family, notwithstanding the fact that there is widespread agreement that it warrants far more attention.” — Julie Berg and Clifford Shearing in “The practice of crime prevention”

Crime prevention – 1996 National Crime Prevention Strategy (NCPS) *

This is South Africa’s overarching policy on crime prevention. It was intended to be the guiding framework for a wide range of interdepartmental programs aimed at increasing safety. The four “pillars” of the NCPS covered improving criminal justice functioning, environmental design, community values and education, and transnational crime.

At its peak, the NCPS was seen as one of six pillars of the country’s National Growth and Development Strategy, a far-sighted move that recognized the vital role safety plays in development. However, the change of administration in 1999 ushered in a new approach to how government would deal with crime. Political pressure was mounting on government to deal with the rampant crime problem, and the longer-term approach of the NCPS was not appeasing the fears of the public or of politicians. In the end, shortrange thinking prevailed, the Growth and Development Strategy was shelved in favour of the Growth, Employment, and Redistribution Strategy (GEAR).

With the possible exception of victim support, most of the social programs envisaged by the NCPS never came to fruition.

Law enforcement – 2000 National Crime Combating Strategy (NCCS) *

The 1996 National Crime Prevention Strategy was largely drafted by a panel of civilians and was widely distributed for comment. The NCCS, on the other hand, was produced in-house by the South African Police Service (SAPS) and has never been issued as a public document. The NCPS was, in theory, an interdepartmental policy, while the NCCS is explicitly a security cluster matter.

These differences are indicative not only of the shift towards an overtly law enforcement approach to crime reduction but also of the pressure to respond quickly – which partly explains the lack of consultation and the NCCS’s focus on the police.

Adapted from the ISS’s “Crime and Crime Prevention in South Africa: 10 Years After“

The eThekwini Municipality has, at great expense, installed a fibre optic network known as MetroFibre. Since its conceptual stage, MetroFibre has been envisaged as key to providing more cost effective and more accessible broadband services in the municipality’s attempt to bridge the so-called digital divide.

The Connected Schools project aims, in this initial phase, to connect 86 schools to the Internet in areas like Umlazi, KwaMashu, Phoenix, Inanda, Sydenham and Overport . Quite simply, the more access our learners have to the Internet, the more learning and skills development we are going to see taking place.

This sort of project, once properly implemented and maintained, is an example of the sort of positive interventions which municipalities can make, in partnership with other spheres of government, to effect positive change in the lives of people looking for a way out of poverty. We know that in the 21st century knowledge is power.

Providing access to the Internet means providing access to the single largest repository of Information on the earth. Let’s do much much more of it in the years to come.