WORD reaches us at the Mahogany Ridge that a standoff is looming – as standoffs invariably do – between the South African Local Government Association and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Pravin Gordhan.
According to the association, the country’s 9 000-odd councillors want to be paid the same as members of parliament – about R1.3-million a year. This is irrespective of whether or not they punch the clock at a mega-metro like Cape Town or Johannesburg or a ditch off the highway like Jeffreys Bay. Total salary bill would cost taxpayers about R11-billion a year.
On the other hand, the cuddly Gordhan wants councillors’ salaries to be based on the size of the communities they serve. To this end, he’s worked out a system to grade municipalities on a scale from one to six – with the sixes being the wealthier, more populous sprawls. Gazetted proposals suggest that the mayor of a grade six municipality would be entitled to up to R1.177-million a year, while a grade one mayor would have to scrape by on R653 1158.
The more cynical among us have noted, once again, a steadfast resistance to consider in any shape or form factors of merit in determining a remuneration policy. Which is a pity.
Salga will insist – often until it is blue in the face – that because all councillors have the same responsibilities, regardless of how rich or poor the municipality in which they serve, their basic salaries should be the same.
But this wholly ignores, let’s say, the “talent” factor – the particular skill, dedication and resolve – of councillors with regard to their responsibilities. It is one thing to acknowledge a problem, but something else altogether to present solutions to these problems.
Take, for example, David Bryant, the DA city councillor who wants to move beggars from tourist areas in the Cape Town CBD into “begging zones”. This, you will agree, is easily grade seven thinking. Maybe even grade eight.
Bryant’s proposed begging zones, according to The Times, are similar to measures introduced by the DA which restricts buskers to just 10 spots around the city. This policy, which involves a huge rigmarole in getting a busking permit from the city and then stamped at the magistrate’s court, has done much to stifle Cape Town’s musical culture.
As far as the city is concerned, it seems more important they issue buskers with permits on a first come, first served basis than actually bothering to audition applicants. Frankly, most are useless, and they know it, but they’re not giving up the ticket to ride, if I may. The sun would sooner set to the east of Casablanca before one of these pavement specials makes way for a talented performer.
The result is cacophonous, and it seems sad that the days when metro cops ripped guitars from the hands of blind musicians and broke them are now a thing of the past.
But I digress. Bryant has apparently established a task team, which he chairs, to combat “aggressive begging” in the CBD. Admittedly, some of his party colleagues do not share in his civic enthusiasm and drive to bother others in this matter.
Begging is not illegal – but aggressive begging is. An “aggressive beggar”, in terms of the city’s Public Places and Prevention of Noise Nuisances bylaw of 2007, is one who continues to beg from or follow a target after the target has “given a negative response” to their appeals for money. Obviously this is an ineffectual bylaw – most beggars won’t take one “no” for an answer, or even two or three – and so there is dark talk of identity documents and police action.
I must stress that this begging zones plan is also just talk – for now. But it would be interesting to know where these zones would be.
Bryant’s ward includes the city bowl and the CBD. One resident in his ward told me that she chose to live in the steep, upper reaches of Oranjezicht because it was above what she called “the bergie line”. In other words, it was too strenuous a destination for panhandling and itinerant trolley-pushing.
Most of us, though, don’t live in such rarefied heights. Were they to be driven from Tamboerskloof, Gardens, Vredehoek, the CBD, Green Point and wherever else the tourists may gather, the beggars may just end up in our neck of the woods.
And who knows? Maybe Pravin Gordhan and his colleagues will be there with them. Government, after all, has to find the money for its growing public sector salary bill from somewhere. But before you give them anything, do ask to see their permits. These must be stamped by Bryant himself.
This article first appeared in the Weekend Argus.
