I have a dream that Mr Plato proves to be a true statesman
AN OPEN letter to Dan Plato:
I have a dream that the new executive mayor of Cape Town fulfils all the requirements of a true statesman. An executive mayor who transcends the political conformist straitjacket that hampered previous incumbents.
An executive mayor who will not just be happy to be declared corrupt free and untainted after the next three years of ruling the city.
My dream, sir, is about an executive mayor who does not complain about the failures of others to stop the gangland killings in our townships, but one who declares immediately upon receiving the mayoral chain that the buck stops at City Hall, or the Civic Centre.
I dream of an executive mayor who leaves the routine running of the City to its officials, and brings normality to Manenberg, Scottsdene, Tafelsig, Lavender Hill, Beacon Valley, Nyanga, etc.
I dream of an executive mayor who will “be inventive enough to close off the MyCiTi loss making operation (all the buses are empty), sell off the assets to Golden Arrow, and use the MyCiTi subsidy (R500 million a year) to recruit 6 000 metro police to saturate the troubled townships.
I would call upon political adversaries like police officer Jeremy Veary et al to brainstorm the process with me and hand-pick a crew.
I will have a short-term and a long-term plan. Short-term plan – saturate at least 500 metro police per troubled township, 160 per shift. We search everything and everybody, we pay informers. We assist the police. We do not complain. We solve.
Long-term plan – we plan to solve the habitat problems of the backyarders. We want to bring Manenberg’s population down by 15% in the next five years. This goes for every troubled township.
Can this be done? Yes, it can. With political will and statesmanship.
Mr Plato, just do this. Nothing else. I have never met you, or Veary, but because this is a good dream, you will be surprised to discover how many people from different backgrounds will support you. Pull this off, and your party may even be returned with an increased majority next year.
I may even, for the first time since 1994, vote for your party.
But not many politicians end up leaving a lasting legacy, and being called statesmen. Mr Plato, you can be this in three years’ time, and thereafter be remembered for 100 years – or we may have difficulty remembering you in 2025 if you play safe and do not rock the boat. The choice is yours.