Metro Police unable to address complaints [LETTER]

EDITOR – It is unfortunate that despite the commendable initiative of Bluff CPF chairperson, Andy Rossell, in calling a public meeting at Ansteys Beach to address issues of crime and municipal violations, no decisive resolution can be forthcoming.

The policing of beach bylaws and traffic regulations is the responsibility of Metro Police. But, the disclosure by the Metro Police representative to the crowd of 150 people that his area of patrol includes 13 suburbs and that he has only two vehicles for the Bluff, is an admission that the issues of which Bluff residents complain are beyond his capability to address.

Thus, despite the willingness expressed by several residents at the meeting to increase the membership of the CPF, the reality is that without adequate official reinforcement, realistically the situation is unlikely to improve.

At the root of our situation is the utter indifference of eThekwini Municipality to prioritise resources and funding for basic services such as bylaw enforcement. And the reason for that is the skewed nature of the Metro budget. With a staff that has nearly doubled in size to 28,000 over the past 15 years, it has become top heavy with managerial positions at the expense of personnel on the ground needed to meet basic needs.

Short of radical surgery to prune the bloat and beef up manpower on the ground, the only long term solution is to revert to smaller municipalities such as we had before 2000 where the focus is on serving ratepayers instead of providing sheltered employment for political cadres and cronies.
DR DUNCAN DU BOIS

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