Hennie Bester, the new Western Cape safety MEC, has brought a new attitude to his portfolio
Marianne Merten OIOm not sure whether I must accept congratulations or sympathy,O smiled Western Cape MEC for Community Safety Hennie Bester after his first media conference.
He and MEC for Transport Piet Meyer had just announced that Khayelitsha the violent flashpoint of the four-month-old Cape transport conflict would be closed off for 24 hours on Thursday. On the streets this step was met with disbelief, but also relief that the provincial government has finally and visibly stepped in after months of inaction.
Last Friday, the day after the conflict claimed its latest victims, Bester was sworn in as the first Democratic Party official in charge of the policing portfolio. It is an area in which the party has consistently and vigorously criticised the national government over the past six years.
Bester (37) says the appointment should really be seen as one under the banner of the newly formed Democratic Alliance (DA). One spin-off of this arrangement has already been an end to individual MECs fighting over resources for their own portfolios.
OEverybody told me this was a very bad career move. In a sense thatOs an accurate comment. IOm not doing it from a career point of view. ItOs a calling,O he said calmly. OThe first role of government is to protect its people. If government cannot do that all else is a charade.O Political analysts say the appointment cannot be divorced from the upcoming local government elections and the DPOs plans to entrench itself in the province. Institute for Democracy in South Africa analyst Sean Jacobs said Western Cape residents do not have much confidence in the provincial government; crime and personal safety are important, from Khayelitsha to Camps Bay. OThey had to have a reshuffle to show they are doing something,O Jacobs said. OMy sense is [the DP] think they can come in and turn it around before the local government election.O In political circles Bester is known as OSlim [Clever] HennieO for his political acumen. Bester bilingual but of Afrikaans origin cut his political teeth in the mid-Eighties as the leader of a delegation of Stellenbosch students who wanted to meet the African National Congress Youth League in Lusaka. Their passports were withdrawn by then president PW Botha. He was also instrumental in the DP clinching a provincial coalition government with the New National Party last June, even though the African National Congress had won a slim majority, and in the DP capturing key provincial portfolios like education and policing. A pragmatist, Bester as economic affairs and tourism MEC repeatedly emphasised security and economic issues in the Western Cape and the need for co-operation with the national government to resolve these. With the new MEC comes a new attitude. Relations with the national government have thawed considerably in the space of a few days after two years of frequently acrimonious word-sparring and finger- pointing by BesterOs predecessor. Suddenly national justice and senior police officials are in touch, promising to pull out all the stops, not only to end the transport conflict which has cost seven lives, with scores of people wounded but also on other crime fronts. Minister of Safety and Security Steve Tshwete has welcomed the relaxed start of his interaction with the new MEC. OBoth of us have pledged to work together,O Tshwete said. OWe are seeing eye to eye as far as this matter [the transport conflict] is concerned.O Sitting in a cheerful office decorated with a bunch of fresh flowers, Bester shrugged that he did not get his wish for a quiet 30-day period to familiarise himself with his new responsibilities. Views on how to handle the portfolio were only broadly defined: ending the transport conflict, tackling urban terror and gangsterism are definite priorities; gaining the confidence and support of the police is another crucial aspect. Some question whether the quietly spoken Bester, usually dressed in sombre business suits, is cut out to deal with the stonewalling from Western Cape police a traditional response to avoid co-operation with their political head. OIOm very calm about all of this. I know itOs going to be hard and tough,O Bester said. OI want to see for myself.O Getting communitiesO support will be the make or break for Bester, who said he feels a Osense of personal outrageO over the injustices suffered by ordinary people. OIf IOm going to play politics with the lives of people IOm going to be judged harshly, and correctly so,O he said.