Mayor Mashaba must think like a politician
THIS is an open letter to Herman Mashaba, the newly elected DA mayor of Joburg and to the other DA mayors for that matter.
Both you and I know that Pikitup is in a shambles and that free markets, free enterprise, merit and hard work will save South Africa.
But do not privatise Pikitup since South Africa is not ready for privatisation.
To succeed in coalition politics, be a politician of the art of the possible, not a politician of the art of the impossible.
Be strategic. Be nuanced. Completely drop the idea of privatisation.
For now, think like a politician, not a businessman. Carry out my advice.
First, replace the cadre managers at the top with professional and qualified people.
Second, see that you have enough trucks and other related infrastructure.
The way to do this is to use the Cape Town Metro as a benchmark. If you don’t have enough, procure more trucks and other infrastructure.
Third, rebalance the rounds. You will find some drivers have impossible loads whereas others have it easy.
Fourth, purchase extra trucks to build a buffer of trucks and manpower into the system for men and women who become sick and for trucks that break down.
Fifth, wean the system off corrupt practices such as unnecessary overtime (due to a shortage of trucks) or the hiring of extra trucks at inflated rates.
To prevent a strike, do not stop overtime immediately, that’s what a businessman does.
As a politician schooled in the art of the possible, let it be weaned off by attrition, not decapitation.
Sixth, do not make enemies of the EFF and Cosatu.
Without the EFF, you will not be able to govern. Do not be a bull in a china shop.
If you implement my measures and remove any other inefficiencies which are picked up in a forensic study, you will see a massive improvement.
Also introduce production bonuses for each worker, truck driver and team.
Introduce free markets inside Pikitup by reforming it, not on the outside by privatising it.
The country is not ready for privatisation, the labour unions are not ready for privatisation.
Leave privatisation another time, when the sea of poor and uneducated workers shrinks to a level which makes free labour markets practical again.
If you want to see a state institution that was turned around from a complete state of shambolic dysfunction, go and see Dr Rolene Wagner, the chief executive of Frere Hospital in East London.
From 1994 to 2007, 2 000 babies died there over a 14-year period – that’s three babies a week.
At one stage, a cleaner was delivering babies and dispens- ing medicine – so badly run was that institution.
She did wonders by introducing simple common-sense managerial interventions.
And there was no need to privatise any services. Naushad Omar