Cordoning off almost 1,5-million township residents leaving only a few heavily policed exit/entry points has not happened since the apartheid years. Yet it was the first step taken by the Western Cape government this week after months of inaction over the simmering Cape transport conflict.
The announcement of the 24-hour shutdown was made within days of the appointment of a new MEC for Community Safety, the Democratic PartyOs Hennie Bester. For the DP, which has repeatedly criticised the national government for not being tough on crime, it is like being thrown into the deep end of the swimming pool. If it is seen to be successfully tackling crime, the issue foremost on Cape residentsO minds, it can hope to collect votes in the upcoming local government elections and control the Cape unicity. But while Khayelitsha residents, trade unions and bus drivers say it is about time some action was taken, few believe a dayOs shutdown will help resolve anything. The cordoning off of the township was not really necessary: the regulations governing the closure of taxi ranks expressly make provision for ranks and/or routes. It has been successfully done in Mabopane and Soshanguve near Pretoria without resorting to draconian measures. The announcement of the shutdown was top- down, presented to the long-suffering people of Khayelitsha as a non-negotiable. But it is not just New National Party or DP politicians who can be blamed for the current transport debacle. At the start of the conflict the provincial African National Congress tried to rein in its supporters in the taxi industry. The ANC was told off. The time had come to cash in favours delivered during the struggle: transporting activists, smuggling guns and providing transport free of charge to rallies. With several former taxi warlords now representing the party in various local government structures, hands have been tied.
Bester inherits years of neglect and lack of political will to police township areas where taxi warlords have effectively taken control. For years traffic officials have refused to go into townships. It needs more than a shutdown: it requires a long-term strategy to deal with hundreds of illegal and mostly unroadworthy taxis in Khayelitsha.
Reforming the police will be an even more daunting task. There are only a handful of police vans to patrol 36ha of tightly packed shackland. Police morale is at rock bottom because of bad pay. The national government has set aside R200- million for the refurbishment of police stations. As Bester has chosen a cooperative path with the national government, unlike the acrimonious and confrontational attitude of his predecessor, Mark Wiley, perhaps some of that will now arrive in the province. Hopefully, Bester will listen to calls for an official inquiry into how the provincial police allocate resources amid accusations that the men and women in blue are more concerned with fighting each other than criminals.
And perhaps the Western Cape will start to successfully deal with bombers, vigilantes, gangsters and taxi warlords. Because itOs about bloody time. Public service, public lives The Office of the President issued a confusing statement at the weekend regarding the representative for President Thabo Mbeki, Parks Mankahlana. It would seem that the statement is a reaction to speculation about MankahlanaOs future, culminating with an item published in the Sunday Times saying that he was in hospital, but that there was no truth to rumours that he was about to be demoted. Issued under the name of the minister in the presidency, Essop Pahad, the statement says that such speculation is Ounfounded and mischievousO. It adds that, while welcoming Odebate and criticismO on the governmentOs performance, the presidency believed Othat this should be within the bounds of decency and respect for the privacy of its staffO. It is not clear from this statement what the minister is referring to when he demands privacy. It is difficult to imagine a position more demanding of transparency than the representative of an executive president, unless it is that of the head of state himself or herself. He is his masterOs voice and in this age of Ospin doctorsO when the importance of presentation is being elevated to such heights of importance arguably more besides. To suggest that the demotion, or otherwise of such a key official is not a fit subject for public discussion is tantamount to arguing that a pending Cabinet reshuffle should not be subject to speculation the latter a position which, incredibly, Mankahlana himself reportedly adopted this week, presumably from his hospital bed. If EssopOs somewhat cryptic utterances with regard to MankahlanaOs own position are a reference to some wider considerations of privacy he should say so more clearly. But, before doing so, he would well be warned that those holding public office are public servants and, while we have no wish to strip them naked where their personal affairs are concerned, any activities, circumstances or developments that may impinge on the discharge of their duties must be open to reporting, comment and speculation. The presidency has a right more an obligation to Oput the record straightO, but it has no right to try and use appeals to OprivacyO as a means to secrecy, no matter how OdecentO or compassionate the motive might be.