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In squalid Jo'burg, you're the vandal i... Even stealing and lying are relative in ... How you've forced me to strip myself nak... |
In squalid Jo'burg, you're the vandal if you take the illegal posters downIN KEEPING with the ANC's Third World aspirations, the city of Johannesburg has now become such a squalid, mephitic mess that perhaps we should advise incoming foreign tourists to give it a miss lest they return home with the wrong impression of SA as a tourist destination. The poster problem (my favourite gripe) seems only to get worse, and I have been told that it is an offence to take down posters if they have an official municipal sticker. Apparently you can be prosecuted for vandalism. This is a clear indication that the lunatics have taken over the asylum. Surely it is the people who put up the posters who should be prosecuted for vandalism? The fact that legal posters are only supposed to advertise community events and not commercial enterprises doesn't seem to have deterred the municipality who, it seems, for a small consideration, will hand out official stickers for anything regardless of municipal bylaws. Roads and pavements have been allowed to deteriorate and remain unrepaired. The Braamfontein spruit, one of the city's few claims to natural beauty, is now a polluted rubbish tip. Broken road signs are no longer replaced and traffic lights don't work - which is not really that important because many drivers don't take any notice of them anyway. Uncollected garbage bags line the streets and rain water gathers in stagnant pools because it cannot run down the storm drains which have been blocked by the leaves the street sweepers swept into them because they were too idle to put them in bags and remove them. People who have never driven a car in their lives feel qualified to wave you into an obviously empty parking space and then demand money to protect your car. On every major intersection stand groups of indolent scroungers, many of them perfectly capable of work, who expect you to pay what amounts to a toll to drive past them. Informal street traders sell food prepared in the most unhygienic conditions without any official intervention while somebody who wishes to open a restaurant is subjected to rigorous health inspections before he can open his doors for business. The rates that are collected are used to subsidise those who have never paid for municipal services and have no intention of ever doing so. Not surprisingly, services continue to deteriorate and house prices continue to fall as owning property in Johannesburg becomes less and less attractive. Meanwhile, I read in the local paper that the people who are supposedly running the city are paying themselves up to R40 000 a month plus a car allowance of R10 000. In addition, some are living in rent-free accommodation. Obviously, all of this has to be paid for by somebody and, as usual, it is the dwindling band of mugs known as the ratepayers who are expected to foot the bill. Unfortunately, there is precious little that those of us who live in Johannesburg can do about this because the ruling party, although well known for their chaotic management and ineptitude, are likely to remain the ruling party. As rates rise to pay for our local politicians' luxury lifestyles, we are certain to get less and less for our money. It is already an accepted fact of life that grass verges will only be mown once a year if at all and that clean streets are regarded as a quaint old relic of our apartheid past. While all of this may be very depressing for residents, it must be even worse for those who believed the ANC's election rhetoric and invested in the city. For example, a new hotel is being built at the historic Wanderers sports club. One wonders who will fill it when there are already six underutilised five-star hotels competing for occupancy. Part of the solution is to ignore local government and do what businesses in parts of Rosebank, the upmarket business and residential area north of the city centre, have done. They have organised their own private security and street cleaning service and have put forward a plan to accommodate street traders in an organised trading area. All of this has made a noticeable difference, although there is more to be done before Rosebank could be described as a pleasant shopping experience. At least it's a start, though. The only problem is that local businesses now have to pay extra for services they have already paid for and have every right to expect the municipality to provide. So, in effect, by introducing such local initiatives we are giving politicians permission to continue to take our money while they deliver less. Top of page
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