February 26 2004
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February 26 2004 |
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It's not only local sport that's in a mess (specifically our rugby administration), but local councils as well. For months and months now the people of Johannesburg have been fighting a loosing battle against the Jo'burg council. Services are being cut left right and center, whether you've paid or not. Last weekend saw a mass demonstration against the council to show dissatisfaction and unity against the council, and eventually things are happening. Maybe it's because the elections are round the corner?
The mayor now conceded that the "customer is always right". An about turn if you ask the consumer. But what is actually happening here is job creation. Most (if not all) municipalities use contractors for meter reading. Jo'burg has decided that three of these companies will suffice (previously only two were used), with the third one checking on the other two - do the job properly first time? What a waste of money and resources. If the company cannot do the job properly, outsource it to one that can! Water won't be cut anymore but restriction valves will be installed. Good idea, no-one can do without water. A 24-hour team will reconnect services where it's been cut by mistake. Why employ these people if your system and house is in order? Another brilliant idea is the new system of making employees personally responsible for specific accounts. You cut it by mistake, your head's on the line. Good show!
Turning to crime. If memory serves me correct the mayor of New York started a policy some time ago of cracking down on crime starting with petty crimes. Logic tells you that you start with the small problems and the bigger ones will take care of itself. Not here. Judge Hannes Fagan, the judicial inspector of prisons came out with a brilliant idea. Petty criminals should be warned or made to pay bail and then released. No more going to jail and waiting to be heard. He says that 20 000 cases a month are thrown out of courts because "they should not have been arrested in the first instance". He did touch on a very true point, and that's unemployment. 60% of prisoners are under the age of 30 - poverty and unemployment. One thing comes to mind - spot fines. You let a petty thief get off with a warning, next thing he moves on to bigger things / crimes. What is disturbing are the facts published in the Star daily newspaper (Feb. 26 2004) - Trail-awaiting prisoners are three in a cell designed for one, 2 052 juvenile trail-awaiting prisoners are at Pollsmoor which was designed for less than half of that. At a Jo'burg prison there are 7 522 juveniles where there's only space for 2 630. A cell intended for 28 people now accommodates 101! It's time our justice system gets a major overhaul.
Big story in the same paper about a woman who committed suicide after "killing" her mother who's been very ill at an old age home. She smothered her 85 year old mother as she could not face the pain and suffering anymore, after which she jumped out of the seventh floor to her own death. Up to 7 000 people commit suicide every year because of depression. According to the SA Depression and Anxiety Group, 17 in 100 000 South Africans kill themselves every year. Reasons for this include extreme poverty, dysfunctional families with abuse, divorce, peer pressure, failure to achieve at school and serious illnesses such as Aids. Looking at statistics between 10 and 14% of the population will experience depression which means that 4,2 million South Africans are depressed at any one time. Scary!
Makes you.., well, feel depressed!
