Building a Caring Society
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 Over the past few weeks I have thought a lot about the challenges we are faced with in building a caring society. As City Manager, there are many things we have to do to ensure that we ensure there is law and order, but which are often seen as very uncaring in the eyes of some members of the media.
Almost every day, for example, we have to break down shacks being built illegally. This is because Council took a decision some ago that we would not allow any further illegal building of shacks. People who live in existing shacks would be allocated houses as we built them and as they moved into their new, free, houses, they would have to break down their old informal home. Over 10000 families have done this already and have willingly accepted receiving a new home. In return, they have had to break down their old home. In time we will have accommodated all, from the very poor to the working, middle and upper classes.
We have also removed many people as we build a new non-racial and integrated city. Under apartheid, communities were divided on the basis of race. Roads into former African townships were usually single entrances and exits, built to control black South Africans. Now we want to free up the city and have got involved in building roads based on need and not race. And so, as we build a Princess Nandi Drive or Provincial road P577, we find people living in the way. We have had to remove hundreds of families to make way for such developments. Due process has always been followed, with parties being consulted, and in almost all cases they have willingly taken up the offers we have made.
At the moment the spotlight is on Warwick. To date over a hundred street traders have willingly moved to make way for the flyovers being built. A further 270 street traders have agreed to move to make way for the new retail centre. And the bovine head cookers too will move over the road to their new premises. All will be accommodated somewhere.
But the situation with the Early Morning Market traders has become quite confrontational. We have proposed a temporary relocation so that we have time to work out the future of the EMM which all would agree is not sustainable going forward. But it is a real pity that they have not taken advantage of the consultative processes we had set in motion. Instead, they have refused to meet with us time and time again. However, as a result of their own court action against us they have now found themselves having to accept that law and order must prevail – only those who legally have leases with the city have rights.
At the same time, whilst the Traders Association blocked us from meeting the many illegal traders who have no lease with the city, they have now accepted our proposal to meet. As a city we would want to work cooperatively with even those who do not have formal and legal rights. But to do so, they must respect the law and policies of our city which have given rights to over 10000 informal traders already, far more than anywhere in our country.
I would also hope that these most marginalised people start telling us who is exploiting them, who it is that they are paying rentals to, and who it is that is controlling what they sell and for what price. No-one can accept the way in which the most marginalised are being exploited and the sooner we root out those behind the exploitation, the better we will all be.
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