Warwick Bruce Chapman

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

Please pass this on to good people who want to make a difference on the ground.

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

Speech to eThekwini Full Council:

Why are there no national television campaigns outlining all the incentives business and residential electricity users should have to reduce their consumption and utilise alternate energy sources?
Where is there no nationwide campaign to lead by example and reduce consumption in the public sector?
Why are incandescent bulbs still legal in South Africa?
Why is Eskom’s leadership in turmoil at such a critical time for the country and our economic growth?
Why did Government and Eskom consistently ignore critical advice on generation capacity, coal stocks, procurement standards?
Why is government not taking the electricity crisis seriously?

I could go on but the answers will all be the same: The South African Government and its parastatals, led by you and all of your ANC-affiliated, cadre-deployed cronies, care first and foremost about using power to enrich one another and only secondarily about doing their jobs.

This attitude means that, once again, the poorest of the poor in South Africa are going to suffer because of your ill judgement. Some will no longer be able to afford electricity, and some will again freeze during winter and thus the motivation to steal electricity will increase and more and more illegal connections will result.

The knock on effects of your irresponsibility will increase the cost of all goods and services in South Africa at a time when everything should be done to reduce the cost of living and increase the quality of life for all South Africans.

The manufacturing sector in South Africa, which provides 40% of employment in eThekwini, is already struggling to match the productivity of other parts of the world, will now have a massive electricity price increase to deal with. How many people will lose their jobs because of this? How many people will lose their jobs because of your inaction?

Accepting these proposals would amount to the DA condoning the gross negligence at the hands of Government and Eskom in dealing with the security of energy supply over the past 15 years. South Africans should be paying for the generation and transmission of electricity and not for the mistakes of Eskom and Government and most certainly not for lining the pockets of comrades.

The Speaker – eThekwini Council
Councillor James Nxumalo
City Hall
DURBAN

12 November 2009

Dear Mr Speaker

QUESTIONS IN TERMS OF SECTION 17 OF THE RULES OF ORDER

1. How many building inspectors are currently employed per region in eThekwini (Central, North, South, Outer West); and
   1. How many posts are reflected on the organogram for building inspectors per region in eThekwini (Central, North, South, Outer West)?
   2. How many building inspections are building inspectors required to perform on a daily basis in order to meet their performance management requirements?
2. How many enforcement officers are currently allocated per region in eThekwini (Central, North, South, Outer West)?
3. How many violations have been processed in 2009; and
   1. How many have been successfully prosecuted?
4. How many building inspectors were employed in Pinetown upon incorporation of the Inner West Council into the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality; and
   1. How many building inspectors are now employed to cover the same Pinetown region covered by the inspectors alluded to in above; and
   2. How many enforcement officers are allocated to the same region?
5. Considering incorporation of former R293, LFTEA and other previously unregulated areas into eThekwini Town Planning schemes, what provision has been made to further resource the various building inspectorate and enforcement offices in eThekwini?

Yours faithfully,
Councillor Warwick Chapman
Democratic Alliance

I would like to voice my support for the current round of projects to upgrade legacy substations in Glenwood and other parts of the City.  In this instance I speak not only in my role as a councillor but also as a small business owner operating in the Glenwood area and providing employment to over 30 people.

In the past year the Bulwer Park substation in Glenwood has unfortunately been hit 3 times by serious incidents of breakins and the theft of equipment and cables which has resulted in surge damage and downtime in the surrounding area.  The downtime, moreso than the electrical damage which is covered by insurance, puts businesses in the affected areas at significant risk as a result of lost revenue and as reduced service levels.

I would like to urge council to consider more seriously the challenge of ensuring the security of assets like substations which are integral to the economy of the City and its capacity to generate job-soaking growth.  In the case of the Bulwer Park substation, the perimeter fence was damaged during the first break-in and again during the second and neither holes were repaired before the third incident.  Additionally many substations like this one are very poorly lit and thus it is difficult for members of the public to see what is happening in or around the substations at night.

Frustratingly, the amount of money earned by selling goods stolen from substations is only a fraction of what it costs to replace, let alone the damage to the economy and insurance record of the City.  In one instance, a City Electrical Engineer indicated to me that a neutral bar stolen and sold for a few hundred Rands would cost over R6 000 to replace.  In that same situation, businesses in the area were subject to over 24 hours of downtime resulting in hundreds of thousands of Rands in loss of income.

The classic example of minor theft devastating the economy of the City was the Isipingo tower last year where R200-300 worth of bolts stolen causing R2 million and Toyota alone lost R50 million as a result of being out of electricity for 4 days.

While I have little doubt that City officials are taking a proactive approach to the very real challenges posed by issues like cable theft, I felt it necessary to also bring a real world example of this issue and its impacts to the attention of my colleagues here in Council.  Often all there is in the way of getting the right things done in the interests of the brighter future of our City is political will and I thus implore you to consider the serious impact of these outages on the economy of the City, especially at a time when job creation is such a crucial imperative.