Press statement by Solly Msimanga Executive Mayor of Tshwane
When campaigning to bring much-needed change to Tshwane, we identified that informal traders in Tshwane, much like anywhere else, need to be supported and not discouraged from making a living for themselves and their families.
As such we have decided to host a summit for informal traders to further hear some of their grievances but, most importantly, how the City can further assist this sector of our economy to exist and flourish within the ambit of the law.
This is for the purpose of developing a more detailed understanding of their respective informal economy and its needs.
In practice this means local governments developing systems to gather adequate socio-economic data (such as population numbers, the number of indigents, etc) as well as information on which sectors and resources their local economies are reliant on – and how the informal economy can contribute to these value chains. In order to boost the local informal economy, there must be an understanding of what it comprises (street vendors, transport companies, home-based businesses, micro-enterprises, etc).
This necessitates meaningful dialogue with relevant stakeholders in the informal sector, including participation by these stakeholders in the formulation of the local government’s IDP.
At this summit we will also communicate with these informal traders that the Inner City Rejuvenation Programme is not designed to stifle their work but rather to create an environment that invites residents and tourists alike into the city, which will dramatically increase the influx of people into the city and increase the market to which they can sell.
For this to happen, the city has to be made safer by ridding it of all illicit activity and restoring buildings and infrastructure in order to attract big business and investors, and be conducive for trade and inviting for residents and tourists.
This will take some time but we are committed to restoring order and dignity in our city, and informal traders are not forgotten in our endeavours.
Following from this summit, the City of Tshwane will help facilitate the election of regional bodies in Tshwane so that their elected representatives may interact directly with the City about their grievances and ideas to further harness the informal economy and its contributions to making the lives of our people that much better as we grapple with an unemployment crisis that has gripped the nation.
Drug problem and law enforcement in Tshwane:
In South Africa, levels of substance abuse continue to rise, and the age of first experimentation with drugs has dropped to ten years. However, South Africa is not alone in its campaign against drugs.
The rapid globalisation of the drug trade over the past decade has virtually ensured that no country is immune to the threat. The drug trade transcends the borders of all countries. Therefore, South Africa continues to serve as a transit route for the drug trade and has become a major consumer of drugs.
Ongoing joint intelligence-driven operations with SAPS and Crime Intelligence are taking place in all identified hotspots. In addition, complaints received from members of the public, media and social media are also followed up.
Further to that, the TMPD conducts education and awareness sessions on substance abuse in schools throughout Tshwane to address the scourge of drugs and substance abuse.
The drug trade, drug abuse and all associated crime are an issue that the City has been seized with and this is evidenced by the Anti-Drug Unit we established last year after assuming office. This unit has had some success and is continuously intensifying its efforts to get drugs off our streets everywhere in Tshwane, including the CBD. This will be swiftly engaged by the Inner City Rejuvenation Initiative we announced just last month.
Success of special operations by the Tshwane Metropolitan Police
December 2016 20 arrests
January 2017 20 arrests
February 2017 7 arrests
March 2017 40 arrests
Total 87 arrests
Measures to address drug abuse:
The City of Tshwane engaged the University of Pretoria as a partner in the fight against substance abuse. UP conceptualised the COSUP project, which spans two years. The agreement between the City of Tshwane and the University of Pretoria was finalised in June 2016 and funds were made available in August 2016.
The most important aspect of this project is that it has initiated a significant shift in the approach to dealing with substance abuse.
This has seen the shift from the victimisation of drug users, which was often characterised by sending users either to jail or to short rehabilitation in rehabilitation centres where withdrawal and total abstinence are the sole aim, to a human rights, harm reduction and health care approach where early detection, harm reduction and care in the community through relationship building, support and re-integration into society are the main focus.
Community-oriented primary care (COPC), brief interventions, opioid substitution therapy (OST) and a needle exchange programme are central to this approach.
The National Department of Health and the Provincial Departments of Health and Social Development are engaged in the development and monitoring of the project.
The project leaders have appointed and trained a medical doctor, a registered nurse, clinical associates and social workers. The staff has started screening at homes, initiated treatment at several sites and built relationships with communities and community organisations.
The project plan initially stated that the medicine for OST would be provided by the Provincial Department of Health. This proved to be complicated, as OST is not yet in the policy and guidelines and has not started yet. Funds in the project have therefore been re-allocated for medicine, and agreements are finalised for medicine to be funded through UP until the provincial system has been established.
Approval and support by the National Department of Health has been obtained for this work to go ahead.
In the meantime, patients and their families have been paying for the medicine. It is clear from evidence and international experience that OST is absolutely essential for effective management of heroin addiction and will therefore be a central part of the project.
This programme has so far been able to screen 688 substance users in their homes who have been identified as needing care. Altogether 392 have been initiated in care and harm reduction, and 32 patients have been initiated in self-funded OST. Furthermore, 5 sites are functional already and 2 additional sites are in the process of establishment.
Gauteng City Region anti-substance abuse awareness campaign:
The social cluster MECs led by the MEC for Social Development in conjunction with the City of Tshwane held an anti-substance abuse awareness campaign on 1 March 2017 in response to the outcry about the Bluetooth phenomenon, which was highly publicised by the media.
The campaign started at the Mabopane station where MECs and all stakeholders interacted with service users living around the station. At the end of the day, 301 service users volunteered to go to rehab, but by 3 March 2017, 159 participants had discharged themselves.
This is deeply regrettable and the City in consultation with the provincial government is in the process of ascertaining all the reasons that led to these patients abandoning this state-sanctioned care and how we can better retain these patients in rehabilitation facilities until such time as they are able to be re-integrated into society.
Current state of Local Drug Action Committees (LDACs):
The LDACs are currently being handed over by the Provincial Department of Social Development to the City of Tshwane.
The City of Tshwane, together with the Provincial Department of Social Development and the Local Drug Action Committees, has launched 48 WBLDACs to date.
Plans:
- Revitalisation, establishment and support of Ward-based Local Drug Action Committees and Local Drug Action Committees processes are underway pending the terms of reference on handing over of the function by the Department of Social Development to the City of Tshwane.
- Funding of not-for-profit organisations for 2016/17 is currently in process.
- The University of Pretoria’s community-based rehab model (shifting from a national to a community approach to devise a community-specific solution).
- Call centre programme and whistle-blowing to be set up.
- Capacity-building programmes to be implemented.
No community will be a no-go area for service delivery:
The City of Tshwane strongly condemns the violent protest action witnessed at the Klip-Kruisfontein Cemetery in Soshanguve wherein the MMC for Agriculture and Environmental Management, Cllr Mike Mkhari, and the Speaker of Council, Cllr Rachel Mathebe, were barred by ANC members from officially opening the cemetery.
The duo was essentially stopped from performing their official duties of handing over the burial site as mandated by the electorate.
This behaviour is disingenuous and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. A case of assault, malicious damage to property and public violence has been opened at the Akasia police station.
The same shenanigan was repeated at Soshanguve during an imbizo called by MEC Paul Mashatile.
We wish to reiterate that this administration is committed to serving the people of Tshwane and that protest gimmicks will not deter us from continuing with our developmental agenda. Despite the unjustified protest, we are happy to inform Soshanguve residents that the cemetery is open for burial operations.
We believe that we can bring about the conditions that will draw investment, stimulate economic activity and create job opportunities. We believe that local government is ideally placed to drive economic development and support the ambitions of enterprising South Africans.