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Building a safereThekwiniMunicipalityrequires all of

us to get involved toensure the city is safeand feels safe.

As a localgovernment we arewell placed to createan environment less conducive tocrime through designing andimplementing programmes targetedat specific crime problems andgroups at risk.

This is “Our City, Our Safety, OurResponsibility”. There are manythings we must do.

First and foremost, we must focuson effective policing andcommunity safety.

We need to coordinate our effortsfar more than we do at present.

Do all of our communitiesparticipate in the community safetyforums?

Do the many private and public

forces communicateeffectively with eachother, shareinformation and drivetargeted programmesto reduce crime.

We must addressvagrancy and othersocial problems too.

Are we doingenough to raise awareness onsubstance abuse, are we managingstreet children and car guards, arewe creating safer schoolenvironments, what aboutdeveloping opportunities for youth,raising awareness of family values,morals and human rights, and soon.

These issues require plans andstrategies.

We must continually better designand manage our public spaces.Crime prevention is also abouteffective environmental designpolicies.

The more we map crime and workout why it happens in particularlocations at particular times thebetter we will be able to devisestrategies and action plans.

We must get our communitiesmore actively involved in creatingsafer cities.

From educational programmesthrough attending ward meetingsand doing everything possible toshare information, we must getpeople involved.

The more we walk ourneighbourhoods at night, takingback our environments fromcriminals, the safer our cities willbecome.

Fighting crime is everyone’sbusiness and if we get it right it willensure we can become a thriving,world-class industrial andcommercial centre withemployment opportunities for allcitizens, a premier touristdestination, and a municipality witha clean, safe environment and ahigh quality of life.

OPINION and LETTERS22 May 2009 Page 7

Two Sides to The StoryTourism Indaba is a feather in our cap

Working together wecan beat criminals

NOSIPHO Dlamini, of Models International, is cleverly made up so that one side of her face looks as ifit’s in a state of decay and the other is pristine and beautiful. Dlamini was taking part in the NakedCreative Collective Media show at the Durban Art Gallery last week. The show represented aprovocative bid to stimulate debate on HIV/Aids. The make-up and the model’s dress is the work ofLinea Academy design student, Bradley Marshall Picture: THEMBA KHUMALO

EVERYdevelopingcountrydreams of

positioning itself in away that createsopportunities foreconomic growth. Thesame dream is sharedby provinces and cities, and Durbanis no exception.

We recently hosted one of ourbiggest Tourism Indabas ever. Wedid not expect such a turnout giventhe recent global economicmeltdown, so we were pleasantlysurprised.

This augurs well for our City. Theannual event, widely regarded asone of the world’s premier tourismtrade shows, brought about R250-million to our city’s economy.This is a huge boost, especially inthe light of the global recession.

There was, reportedly, a slightdrop in the number of people whoattended this year, but the quality ofindaba itself was amazing. And thisyear’s event was unique in the sensethat it acted as a forerunner of thetwo major football events, theConfederations Cup in June andnext year’s World Cup, the biggestsporting event on the world’s soccer

calendar. The presence of the

2010 mascot, Zakumi,underlined ourcountry’s realcommitment to hostsuccessful, world-classsoccer events.

Another majorbenefit of this year’s indaba to theSouthern African people was theopportunity it provided to showcasetourism products to large-scalebuyers of such products andservices.

It is these products that will attractthem to frequent our country andboost our tourism industry.

Events of this nature really do putOUR country on the world map andwe are looking forward to anincrease in foreign spending.

Durban has hosted the TourismIndaba for 20 years. This sayssomething about our organisationalskills.

But that does not mean we shouldrest on our laurels. There are othercities interested in hosting theindaba. And should we lose it, itwould be impossible for us to get itback.

We as a City will do all we can toensure that does not happen.

ObedMlabaeThekwiniMayor

LETTERS

Send your letters to: The Editor, Letters, PO Box 5588, Durban, 4000; or e-mail: mtolos@durban.gov.za . We reserve the right to edit allletters published. The eZasegagasini Metro is an official eThekwini Municipality publication through which residents are informed of news,

entertainment and perspectives in greater Durban. The newsroom can be contacted at 031 311 2290. The Editor is Ntsiki Magwaza.

MichaelSutcliffe eThekwiniManager

I TRAVEL to the Durban CBD frommy home in Phoenix everyweekday morning using the R102,through the M41 and onto the M4(Ruth First). There is always abottle neck at the Umhlanga, city-bound on-ramp to the M41caused by taxis and cars alikeusing the emergency lane to jumpthe queue onto the M41.

Vehicles already on the M41,including myself, close the gap todeny these violators easy access.Unfortunately, other innocentmotorists coming from Umhlangasuffer too.

At times drivers cut in so hastilythat they pose a danger to othermotorists. I’ve witnessed several

near accidents. I suggest that theMetro Police act to alleviate trafficcongestion at this point beforethere is a serious accident. Theyshould prosecute offendingmotorists for crossing the barrierline and reckless driving.

VISPALINGUM NAIDOOPhoenix

THE letter reveals a traffic safetyphenomenon known as aggressivedriving that threatens to be a majorpublic safety concern for the publicand law enforcement alike.

It shows that the public does notadhere to the rules, unless there is areal threat of prosecution.

But sometimes even such threatsmay not be the solution because ofinsufficient police officers availableto police the roads.

The complaint has beenforwarded to the regionalcommander of the North tomonitor the situation and takeappropriate action against theviolators. I hope that the attitude ofthe drivers changes, as enforcementalone is not the solution. Thankyou for your concern about roadsafety.We wish more motoristswould report bad driving.

TITUS MALAZADeputy Head Operations

Metro Police

THE separation of black domesticrefuse bags from blue gardenrefuse bags makes sense. Gardenrefuse is biodegradable and eco-friendly while domestic refuseisn’t.

Perhaps, then, somebody withinthe Municipality, or DSW, couldexplain why domestic refuse andgarden refuse are collected andcompacted in the same truck anddisposed off in the same landfillsite?

Why as householders do webother separating the two, andwhy, when the whole world is busy trying to be eco-friendly, is this opportunity lost by our city?

PAUL WALSHDurban

THERE are two main reasons forthe separation of the two types ofrefuse.

The blue garden bag service isspecially offered to residentswishing to dispose off their gardenrefuse on the same day as thedomestic collection service.

This service is charged forseparately either by means of acontract with DSW or bypurchasing the blue bags at retailoutlets.

The cost of the bag covers both thecollection and disposal of gardenrefuse. This service is not includedin your annual property rates,which is the case with the domesticservice.

That, basically, is the reason for itto be kept separately.

With regard to why it is

compacted and collected in thesame truck – it is simply a case ofeconomics.

In the long term we are looking at composting options for thegarden refuse which wouldnecessitate separating at thelandfill or a separate collectionsystem.

All garden refuse from our gardensites that are of much highervolumes are transported separatelyand go through a compostingprocess at both Bisasar Road andMariannhill Landfill Sites.

If you have any queries please donot hesitate to contact our DSWHelpline at 031 311 8804.

NEERI GOVENDERPublic Relations: Cleansing and

Solid Waste (DSW)

Separation of homewaste a load of rubbish

Prosecute M41 road hogs please

LAW & ORDER: First andforemost, we must focus oneffective policing, but beatingcrime goes beyond this.Everyone must participate incommunity safety forums