A Study in Futility

Next to the prospect of  Julius Malema becoming president, braaing being declared illegal, the wrath of a god and a sudden shortage of beer in the country, most of us understandably fear crime the most in South Africa. Having 'done time' in that cemented jungle of a 'prison' called Johannesburg, my neurosis (I'm white, we don't fear, we are neurotic!) is deeply rooted in falling victim to crime... again. It's a fear I have carried with me all the way to Cape Town.
A recent crime victim survey shows most of us are more afraid of falling prey to house-robbery. Strangely enough murder is listed as the fourth most feared crime (?!). Unless you're Canadian or an Aussie, much of the world comprehends and appreciates the anguish and fear which accompanies crime. The fact we carry out surveys to gauge our feelings (which I would've thought are glaringly obvious and don't require surveys) tells me, as a country prone to navel-gazing at the best and worst of times, we are maybe losing sight of the real impact crime has. I'm not talking about lofty theories on how crime levels can affect foreign investment and how authorities need to analyse themselves and their tactics. Those are important aspects, but one can easily become myopic by staring to closely at our belly buttons in search of 'answers'. Such surveys mean nothing to a person arched over the corpse of a loved one, gunned down by a criminal. And so the release of the of the ominously titled 'Shadow crime statistics report' by the Western Cape Community Safety Department will automatically send our eyes straight back to our navels, where we will find more fear, more agony, added anger and pain. According to this document one is more likely to be stabbed to death on a Sunday from midnight to 6 am during the Festive season in the Cape. If you're male, aged between 18 and 35, it's tickets for you... that's if you dare to venture in Nyanga or Khayelistha after dark. The purpose of such surveys/research escape me. Apart from fueling neuroses, building up existing stereotypes and sparking panic, I can't really find a real purpose for such 'studies'. Okay, so those tasked with keeping us safe will argue such research helps inform crime fighting strategies. Maybe. However, as just another Joe Nobody, I read such 'findigns' with arched eyebrows, whitened knuckles, a rapidly beating heart and a renewed sense of paranoia. Much like I used to drive around Joburg at night, checking over my shoulder and refusing to stop and red traffic lights, I now take my life into my own hands by going out after dark during the festive season on a Sunday (and I'm 34-years-old), which means I'm a dead target! That's the only conclusion I can draw from such piffle. That's how I as a regular citizen read the Shadow report on Crime, hatred, stereotypes and all things dodgy. It's fine to intellectualise crime. Established bodies such as the Institute for Security Studies have been doing it for years. But documents with words like 'shadow' in their titles and surveys gauging most the obvious of fears, mean nothing to the every-person. Give us tangible evidence that things are being done in real time, in the real world, free of pontificating and theories. Give us evidence that crime is being beaten. That's the reason behind the release of crime stats. Whether they are made public once or twice a year (the fodder of opposition parties) also means sweet fanny nothing to us - the targets and the victims.
When 16 members of my family were held up, bound, assaulted, the women threatened with rape and children manhandled in 3 separate incidents over a period of just 2 years, all I felt was helpless, unbridled hatred towards, not just the offenders, but also 'law enforcement officials'. These relatives lived in 'security estates', in relatively well-off suburbs, replete with private security guards and patrols, for which they paid dearly each month. Yet they were held hostage in their own homes for hours and terrorised with seemingly no end in sight. Crime knows no boundaries, of course, but it seems intellectual musings on the nature, causes and effects of this scourge won't assist in easing the trauma. At best they simply provide content for journalists, ammunition for politicians and night-time reading material for police.
 How do crime victim surveys help structure crime combating initiatives? I believe they don't. But if they do, it's minimal. In the real world police are themselves often left helpless in doing their jobs effectively. Reasons like being under-resourced and over-worked are glibly cited by people in suits in corner offices as to why  we can't get a grip on crime. Then we are constantly reminded of the socio-economic nature of the problem and how it feeds desperation, which in turn can lead to crime being perpetrated. Again, we know this. W aren't (all) stupid. South Africans can't escape the grim reality of what often fuels crime. But again, surveys, studies, research - all this won't be effective in making us feel safer and making the country a better place.

A Country Down the Toilet

Count me as a mischievous journo, possibly with too much time on his hands, prone to staring at my navel and fishing for issues, but Tokyo Sexwale's recent briefing to the Human Settlements parliamentary portfolio committee smacked of a mini-State of the Nation address (SONA) or, at the very least, a dry run of sorts. He held a boardroom in the palm of his hands as he gave his synopsis of the country.
Cynically his words became a quote-a-minute, replete with drama, dressed up in his characteristic baritone voice delivering scenes of future-case scenarios dripping in dystopianism, which, some would argue (most of them from within the belly of that beast the ANC) amount to nothing more than surreptitious campaigning. But cynicism (mine included) aside, his reflections on how dysfunctional government has become was refreshing.
"Something is simmering that we must be able to take action to address so that we don't have other Marikanas," warned Sexwale, a remark almost certain to be included in quotable quotes of the week. Soon his 'home truths' as he put it, started looking like a State of the Nation in reverse. I say this because when presidents usual deliver their (executive) summaries of the state of a country, excpect flowery quotes, saccharine obsequiousness, mangled rationality and mind0numding rhetoric. Want to hear some more of Sexwale's topsy-turvy SONA? He had loads more to say. "The Marikanas will keep on repeating themselves over and over until we crumble," the wannabe Commander-in Chief lamented. I scanned the braordroom for signs of life in MPs as Sexwale spilled over with uncomfortable honesty. A stifled cringe appeared on the face of one member (was it the tuna croissant which didn't sitting well?). Reporters smiled, excited by the quality of the quotes which could jostle and compete for paper space (if Julius Malema could keep his trap shut long enough not to steal the limelight). Most listened in genuine rapt attention. Sexwale had them. His 'home truths' were seeming more like a backdrop to a president in waiting, a leader (of sorts) flexing his muscles in the run up to (can you guess?) Mangaung.
From Marikana to the arms deal, Sexwale deftly drew parallels between how wrong the State can get it and how it needs to find direction. Was he the captain who was going to steer the ship back onto course?  "It has come back to haunt us (the arms deal). It has caused such a lot of disquiet," he fretted. He added, "If you think it is disassociated from the problem (of sanitation provision problems) you'd be wrong." He went on to virtually wail if only a quarter of the money spent on the abortion of an arms deal was spent on things like housing for the poor we wouldn't have the problems we see today. Half an hour passed and Sexwale was still not done, sketching a country in distress. His intention was by that stage very clear - He was coming to save South Africa. "To Blame Apartheid is no longer wisdom," he said, "it's gone, the task now rests with us." Virtually everything he said could be applied to some aspect of the country's woes. From housing, and sanitation, to service protests and strikes Tokyo was laying it out - an uncomfortable scenario of government failures, set against the shading of a presidential campaign race.
His campaign for the heart, soul and small intestine of the ANC of course didn't start in that committee room in parliament last Friday. Tokyo has been eyeing the leadership of the ruling party and by proxy the country for years. I recall in the run up to the ANC's Polokwane conference Sexwale addressed students in Johannesburg, where he let rip with the usual politicking, complete with promises of delivery, assurances of not rocking the boat with radical policy changes and views on how things would be awesome and amazing if only he was the boss. We know how that turned out for him and now he's having another bite. Was it Tokyo's Mangaung Campaign Version 2.0 we witnessed in parliament last Friday? Methinks, absolutely!
 As he hammered home 'home truths' as a backdrop to the release of the findings of a sanitation audit carried out my a ministerial task team. A more apt setting one would struggle to find! Like the provision of basic sanitation needs for the poor, which was itself in the poo (Forgive me this crude pun for I can't resist) too many other aspects of government delivery was going down the toilet (probably of the 'open air' persuation as seen in Makhaza). But is Sexwale truly, genuinely willing to get his hands dirty in fixing the problems, remains to be seen?