Making Durban Africa’s most caring, livable city
SERVICE delivery is at the heart of everything the municipality does to ensure all residents are able to live in a clean and nuisance-free environment.
Worldwide cities compete for tourists, investors and talent – therefore it is incumbent upon Durban to put measures in place to promote the transformation of eThekwini into a world-class city.
The availability of basic services, recreational facilities, safety, accessibility or connectivity and access to opportunities are the most common attributes for livable cities. We should never be complacent that we might already have some of these attributes.
The recently gazetted Nuisance and Behaviour in Public Places By-law will assist city officials to attain this goal. It is a step towards achieving our vision of making this Africa’s most caring and livable city by 2030.
We have studied different models for clean cities and drawn lessons from the likes of Singapore, where there is strong focus on both enforcement and education, aimed at improving citizen behaviour towards good upkeep of their city.
The by-law clearly outlines what behaviour is acceptable in public places and what the penalty will be if you are found in contravention of it.
Any person convicted of an offence under this by-law is liable to a fine not exceeding R40 000 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years, or to both the fine and imprisonment.
The maximum payable fine of R40 000 caters for inflation, since a by-law can be in place for 30 years or more. If this amount is too low, the by-law would need to be amended more regularly to keep in line with inflation.
A range of prohibited behaviours are listed in this bylaw and each one attracts a unique admission-of-guilt fine. The final admission of guilt fine amounts are approved by the chief magistrate.
In the case of continuing offence, an additional fine not exceeding R200 or imprisonment not exceeding 10 days will be imposed for each day the offence continues.
The by-law will come into effect during the first part of next year. This interim period will allow metro police officers to be trained to enforce it.
The by-law aims to provide measures to regulate and control behaviour which causes or is likely to cause discomfort, annoyance or inconvenience to the public.
ENFORCEMENT
An authorised municipal official may at any reasonable time enter the premises where a nuisance under this by-law is occurring.
They have the right to question the owner and to serve a notice of compliance on them. They are also allowed to collect evidence.
Officials also have the power to instruct the offender to cease any conduct causing the nuisance immediately.
In instances where the offender cannot or will not cease their behaviour, the official can issue a warning notice to stop causing the nuisance within a stipulated period.
The warning must be signed by the offender.
PUBLIC EDUCATION
The introduction of this bylaw has received a lot of public interest. We will embark on a drive to educate eThekwini residents and visitors about it to ensure compliance.
We believe that if we can all go back to basics by respecting our fellow human beings and the environment in which we live, this will go a long way in addressing prohibited behaviour in our city.
As eThekwini Municipality strives to make Durban Africa’s most caring and livable city by 2030, this by-law is a step in the right direction of achieving this goal.