Ethekwini councillors slam own nuisance by-law
Several Ethekwini councillors described a new by-law as “racist” and “unreasonable”, oblivious to the fact that they themselves had passed it into law.
|||Durban - Ethekwini councillors - the municipality’s lawmakers - are sleeping on the job.
This was the conclusion on Thursday when several councillors described the infamous new nuisance by-law as “racist” and “unreasonable”, oblivious to the fact that they themselves had passed the policies into law.
The by-law came into effect on March 11.
The remarks drew awkward laughs from shocked city officials and a few informed councillors, who had to salvage the embarrassing situation.
It all started when metro police deputy head Steve Middleton briefed councillors in the city’s community and emergency services committee on challenges faced by his department when trying to police the by-law, a month after its implementation.
Calls for a review of the by-law rang out in the meeting venue as Middleton gave his briefing. It could now ultimately be scrapped.
Vincent Kunju of the ANC fired the first salvo. He said: “What worries me is that as he presents this, there are elements of discomfort because it appears to be targeting our people. Blacks are the most affected. This by-law needs to be reviewed.”
NFP councillor Angel Mthembu concurred, saying the by-law “doesn’t sound right”.
“You will never find white people urinating on the side of the road ... This is going to land us in trouble. Sir, if this by-law is not yet implemented, please don’t do it.”
Mzonjani Zulu, also an NFP councillor, said it would be unwise to implement the by-law before the August 3 local government elections.
“Can we pause a bit, refer the by-law to the committees and caucuses and then bring them back? As they are currently, they are certainly going to hurt us come election time. How do we explain this oppression to our people?” he said.
Deputy committee chairwoman Nokuthula Makhanya-Sibiya reminded councillors that the by-law had been discussed by the committee and already implemented.
“Maybe we deliberated on them, but we perhaps didn’t extensively dissect them. Maybe Steve (Middleton) is just going into much deeper details which are making us have another view. We can change our minds, it is our right to,” she said.
The DA’s Martin Meyer emphasised that the by-law had been workshopped in Ballito “more than a year ago”.
Middleton said even though the word was “slowly” getting out to the public, some of the infringements in the by-law were difficult to police. “You (councillors) all approved this by-law, but some of the laws are really impractical to police.”
He said the city needed to have “a balance between by-law enforcement and the social aspect”.
Citing challenges, he said the SAPS “have not updated their systems as yet to cater for the by-law”, despite an agreement to do so.
There was also “a directive from the SAPS provincial commissioner indicating that SAPS must carry out by-law enforcement in future”.
Another challenge was the National Prosecuting Authority’s leniency towards offenders, with Middleton saying this “heavily demoralises” officers. Prosecutors, he said, cancelled and/or withdrew summonses or declined to prosecute.
He provided statistics for the past five days, saying officers had issued 150 summonses for drinking in a public place. About 350 summonses for other infringements had been issued.
Councillors also questioned the role of the legal department in the implementation of the by-laws, saying the department should have been aware of the metro police’s challenges with the NPA and SAPS.
Legal adviser Muhammed Oomar said the department drafted by-laws from instruction from departments.
“When we draft by-laws, it is not in isolation. We draft them in consultation with the department that is going to be the custodian of the by-law. We are not experts on metro police, or health or any department,” he said.
He added that the public was consulted before the by-law was implemented.
“Only once a product is tested do these gaps and challenges arise. We are now put in a position to try to address it,” he said.
Public place infringements and the fines they carry:
* Fighting – R1500
* Urinating – R500
* Bathing – R500
* Washing clothes – R500
* Spitting – R200
* Consuming liquor or being in a state of intoxication – R2 500
* Begging – R200
* Loitering – R2 500
* Allowing any tree or growth on premises to interfere with communal services – R1 500
* Climbing a tree growing in a public place – R1 000
* Drying, spreading or hanging washing on a balcony or veranda in such a way that it is visible from a public road – R500
* Blowing, or causing to be blown, the hooter of a motor vehicle in a public place which creates a nuisance – R1 500
* Skating on roller-skates or a skateboard or similar device – R250
* Appearing in the nude or exposing one’s genitalia in a public space – R3 000
sihle.manda@inl.co.za
@Sihle_MG
The Mercury