Winter leads to high discontent over service delivery

INSUFFICIENT public participation and consultations and unemployment are fuelling service delivery protests this winter from Khayelitsha to Milnerton, and now in Hout Bay.

According to Khayelitsha Development Forum chairperson Ndithini Tyhido, City officials were often simply “ticking boxes” when it came to public participation.

“The reality here is that communities aren’t properly consulted. The public consultation process by the City is more like ticking boxes,” said Tyhido.

He said that often in housing projects in communities like Khayelitsha and Hout Bay, officials might say that, for instance, backyarders will be included in the project but fail to say how these beneficiaries would be screened, which can cause tensions in communities.

“You can’t arrive at a public participation meeting at 5pm and expect to leave at 6pm. We need to have pointed civic education programmes,” said Tyhido.

He said that often a lack of education meant that communities did not understand what was being discussed and how developments could impact on them.

“The gullibility of communities can’t be used against them. Protests in themselves are not a bad thing, but KDF does not support violent protests,” said Tyhido.

The City says it disagrees with Tyhido’s sentiment, adding that both in Hout Bay and Khayelitsha protests were not as a result of insufficient public participation.

“The executive mayor has been engaging directly with residents of Hout Bay and the community leadership, and Councillor Anda Ntsodo, mayoral committee member for Area East, has been engaging with residents of Khayelitsha,” said mayor Patricia de Lille’s spokesperson, Zara Nicholson.

Last month hundreds of backyard dwellers in Khayelitsha targeted three open pieces of land for occupation, complaining that promised development on the land, which had been owned by the City, had not materialised.

Asked whether there was any link between increased seasonal unemployment and service delivery protests, Cape Chamber of Commerce director Janine Myburgh said more research was required to pinpoint a link.

“The tourist industry is certainly seasonal, but it is becoming less so. The reason is that events and conferences take place all year round and are attracting more visitors, even in winter. The other factor is that tourism is but one industry in a much bigger economy so the effect on the general picture will be limited,” said Myburgh.

She added that service delivery protests were mostly aimed at municipalities and other tiers of government. “It is more likely that the real problem is unemployment, especially among the young and unqualified.

“Unemployment is a year-round problem caused by the lack of economic growth and that is the result of policies which have not encouraged companies to expand and create more jobs and corruption, which has undermined business confidence,” said Myburgh.

Western Cape Finance and Economic Opportunities MEC Alan Winde said that between April and September last year regional events created 1 600 temporary jobs, and drove 150 000 visitors into the regions which resulted in an estimated economic impact of R260 million.

Municipal IQ researcher Kevin Allan said there was definitely a link between protests and the onset of winter.

“There’re more protests in winter than in any other season. People are uncomfortable in winter.”

He said that from the first service delivery protests in 2004 to this year Municipal IQ had seen similar issues crop up, although there has been no formal research conducted to see whether there was a link between protest action coinciding with the winter season.

“Stats SA says the people who protest are marginalised, one of the characteristics being high unemployment,” said Allan.

In a place like Hout Bay, unemployment and the accompanying deprivation was not an overwhelming presence in that community, he said.

“They are more organised. In Gauteng recently, protest action happened under the banner of organisations.

“When they are more organised, they are more articulate,” said Allan.

City officials often ‘simply ticking boxes when it comes to public participation’