EDITOR – Aside from anti-poor cheerleader Cllr Du Bois’ unsubstantiated claims of jobs, wealth and happiness for all if the wretched of the earth embrace the Port Expansion Project (letter “Dig-out port protest is misguided” Daily News 2 April 2014), the good councillor would do well to note other fallout likely to result from this mega-infrastructure disaster. Let’s talk crime for example.
Worldwide, ports are associated with crime (narcotics, other contraband and human trafficking) and social decay (for example illegal taverns, prostitution and domestic violence). It’s called ‘harbour creep’. A far bigger port means bigger and better opportunities for these activities. Surely you must admit, Cllr Du Bois, we already have an inelegant sufficiency of the above?
From what I hear, like many other suburbs, the Bluff is beset by crime. Well get this; the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has flagged SA as one of the leading transit hubs for drugs. That means Durban harbour – the biggest port in Africa. The International Narcotics Control Board has gone further and expressed specific concern regarding the impact the Durban port expansion will have on the flood of heroin into SA and the anticipated rise in addiction. Heroin in Durban means more whoonga. Surely, Cllr Du Bois,
you’ve noticed by now what whoonga means for Durban? It’s the 600+ strong crowd of addicts at Whoonga Park, the derelict kids in Chatsworth, the gang wars in Wentworth and top cops bending for drug lords.
UNODC has also noted the escalation of organised crime in SA, mainly caused by our dysfunctional criminal justice system and poor influx control. Durban port security has been a dirty joke for years and allowed the infiltration of major international cartels. Ever heard of the port mafia Cllr Du Bois?
In 2012 the Hawks named Umbilo as one of the top human trafficking hot spots in the country and SA is already amongst the top 10 nations worst afflicted by this scourge. Glenwood residents have been waging war on sex workers with fatal results. Umbilo and Glenwood abut Durban harbour…join the dots Cllr Du Bois.
Since 94, SA has lost R30 billion to corruption through the tendering system – that’s a lot of houses that would’ve gone a long way in addressing Durban’s 80-year housing backlog, and you do acknowledge there will be “some disruption and relocation”. How many tenders will the Port Expansion Project attract? How much more money will be diverted from upliftment projects to politicians’ pockets?
So before you paint credible opposition to this development as fringe lunacy, Cllr Du Bois, consider some of these very real threats to national security and exactly what type of your alleged “tens of thousands of jobs” an expanded port will really create – drug dealers, counterfeit goods importers, human traffickers, pimps, tavern owners, gun runners?
Vanessa Burger
Umbilo Community Activist
